


Temporal Dusk

by Rosa950



Category: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time & Explorers of Darkness & Explorers of Sky
Genre: Anyway expect slow and infrequent updates, I write too many damn words, If I even can finish it, Novelization, Once we hit the Grovyle arc the angst is gonna be REAL, One of the best stories of all time, This will take me forever to finish, and I'm a college student who is constantly drowning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:41:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 42,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28061079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosa950/pseuds/Rosa950
Summary: She hated this planet of darkness as much as he did, but they never let go of that spark of hope.In their dismal world, the only thing brighter than her ginger hair was her precious friendship with him. But once they discover the possibility of a brighter future, they will stop at nothing to make it happen. Even as they are pursued by the henchmen of a psychotic dragon. Even as an unwitting force of imperceivable darkness stalks them from the shadows. Even at cost of their very lives.They knew things would never be the same after their perilous mission. But neither of them imagined the tides of change engulfing them so soon. When the specter strikes just before their departure, a tragic accident ensures she will never again be human.But perhaps the blossoming friendship of a well-meaning, yet timid Pokémon will help her remember both her partner and her purpose.~An ongoing novelization of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky.~
Relationships: Juptile | Grovyle & Player Character (Pokemon Mystery Dungeon), Partner Pokemon & Player Character (Pokemon Mystery Dungeon)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 13





	1. Temporal Dusk: An Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> in 2018, I tried tackling a full-scale novelization of one of my favorite games of all time: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky. Then my life fell off the rails, and my spark of motivation died. I'm still just as busy and stressed as before- if not even more so- but I am so fond of my Pokemon duo that I feel compelled to try again. That being said, I expect updates to be slow and infrequent. Even *if* I stick to my schedule from 2018, it would take me over a year to finish this. And, spoiler alert: I won't be able to stick to a coherent schedule of any sort.
> 
> I don't know if anyone is reading Gen 4 PMD content at this point, well over ten years later. But since I'm starting this over again on my Wattpad, I figured I may as well duplicate it here. Y'know, in case anyone is interested. (Potential spoiler alert, if you've never played the game? But that time is probably long gone.)
> 
> Just a quick note: the player character is an OC (Summer Asher), but I own nothing else of the story, the characters, much of the dialogue, the locations, the plot lines, etc.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The beautiful cover below was made by @ImberLapis on Wattpad. You can find them here: https://www.wattpad.com/user/ImberLapis

My name is Summer Asher.

...Yeah, I know that's not the most exciting way to start a story. But it's important that you know who I am, before all else. It's important that you know who I was, and who I've become.

Not out of vanity, no. But whether I like it or not, my name has been permanently etched onto the pages of life itself. How this truly came to be— you _cannot_ hear it from anyone else but me. That's just the way it is. This story must be told, and it must be told directly from the source. It's the only way to ensure nothing like this happens ever again.

My tale is an unusually long one. And it was not easy to live through. I've stared death in the face far too often, and I've experienced enough heartbreak to fill a thousand lifetimes. Sometimes, a part of me wishes I could close my eyes and open them up to the world I first remember.

And yet, I do not regret a single shred of it. Through it all, I kept going. Because I found my community. I found my most precious of friends. And I found reasons to keep fighting, even when everything seemed absolutely hopeless.

If you've heard my name before today, it's likely due to the legendary exploits of Team Amber Leaf. But this isn't just a story about adventure and exploration— though such elements certainly play a role. At its core, this story is about the eternal struggle between morality and immorality, between hope and despair, between courage and fear, between light and darkness... even between life and death itself.

I suppose you could call me the heroine, but I feel I hardly deserve the credit. I was simply trying to do what was right. It was the many Pokémon I met along the way— both the major and side characters— who deserve such an honorable title. After all, it is these Pokémon who make up the fabric of our precious world. Their collective legacies easily and greatly surpass my own.

But if you want to know the full and true version of what happened... then you've come to the right place. Sit back and get comfortable, because there is a _lot_ to take in.

So, then. Let's begin.


	2. Prologue: Where Everything Went Wrong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have not played through the main story of Explorers of Time, Darkness, or Sky, then I *highly* recommend you skip this prologue and go on to the first chapter. It may seem strange to make a prologue, of all sections, riddled with spoilers. But I truly can't envision the start of this novelization in any other way. Nor can I come up with a reasonable method of alluding to certain characters without using their names. My only real alternative, then, is a fair warning.
> 
> If you have played through or otherwise know the main story line of these games, then great! Feel free to read on. If not, and you don't want to spoil any surprises before your game play, you may proceed to Chapter 1. Don't worry, you won't miss anything too crucial. This is an entirely fictitious scene I've created to envision what may have happened just before the start of the game. The knowledge is not necessary for one's overall comprehension of the plot, however: these details will be revealed with time.
> 
> And yes, before you point it out, the switch from the first person to third person narration here is deliberate. I will explain why in the next chapter.

I could start anywhere, really. Or at least, I wish I could. If all my memories had stayed , perhaps...

Sadly, I have never recovered from the amnesia preceding this story. I don't remember what I looked like. I don't remember how old I was. I don't even know how, or when, or _why_ I started down the path I did. What very little I know of my past life was later recounted to me by a... personal friend of mine.

In fact, what I'm about to tell you is something I don't have a personal recollection of at all. But my friend— a partner from a life I never knew— divulged every little detail of this scene to me. Only then did I realize our reunion was sculpted not just by chance, but by a twist of fate.

Enough of that, though. I can tell you all about this and more when the time is right. For now, I suppose it'd only be appropriate for me to start with the exact moment where everything went wrong.

* * *

"There it is! We've made it!"

"Finally! Thank goodness..."

The unusual duo— a human and a Grovyle— burst out of the woods and into the clearing. They successfully worked their way through that wretched dungeon: the depths of Dusk Forest.

"It's really a shame that Celebi couldn't see us off," the human girl lamented. "I never got to give her a proper goodbye." She tucks a loose strand of long ginger hair behind her ear, away from her pale blue eyes. Among the otherwise gray and lifeless plateau, she could now see the faintly glowing teal rings that marked their destination.

"You're right, Summer," her Pokémon partner replied. "But she did us quite a favor by stalling the Sableye. Let's hurry and make sure her efforts do not go to waste."

 _No time like the present_ , Summer silently agreed, giving him a grim nod before their feet began to race across upon the still earth. Her thought was an ironic one, really: such constructs ceased to be relevant when time itself had shriveled up and died. But with any luck, the two of them could change that for good.

In any case, they had not a moment to waste. Yes, they were being pursued once more, but they were also finally doing it! They were finally implementing their plan to save the world! After so much secret planning, research, and deliberation, things were finally falling into place. Dreams were finally on the threshold of becoming reality.

"Do you remember what Celebi told us?" Grovyle spoke up as they rushed across the stony terrain. "Because of Primal Dialga's powers, the Passage of Time can only deliver us a few weeks before the complete collapse of Temporal Tower."

"And even that in itself is risky," Summer acknowledged grimly, tightening her grip against their decrepit leather bag. "I really hope this works." _We've come too far to fail now..._

"Me too, partner." They arrived at the entrance of the glowing rings. By following Celebi's prior instructions, they were able to activate the Passage of Time. As the luminous bands of light began to fluctuate, an intriguing question crossed through Summer's mind.

"Grovyle? Do you... Do you think there will be any mystery dungeons in the past?" The fifteen-year-old dragged her foot along a nervous semicircle, her heart fluttering. "You know, because the Pokémon there will be so much kinder and pure-hearted ."

Grovyle thought for a moment. "I'm honestly not sure," he finally answered her with a side glance. "We should definitely be prepared for anything, though."

"Right. Besides, no matter what, that world ought to be more beautiful than this one." A smile slowly spread across her face at the thought. She couldn't wait to experience the wonderful and lively world of the past— especially after spending her whole life in its hideous shadow known as the present. The possibilities of the former were endless, embellished by her imagination and snippets of fading fairy tales. If only they could experience them beyond a short time and a tight schedule...

"You always _were_ the dreamer among the three of us," Grovyle murmured before being interrupted by a whining drone. The turquoise rings expanded into a tunnel, its center completely engulfed by vivid flares of light. Beyond her shade of hair, it was more color than anything she had ever seen. She couldn't help but be wonderstruck by such an awesome display.

"The Passage of Time must be ready now. Let's go," Grovyle said eagerly, looking nearly ready to jump ahead without her. Of course, he would never do that, but Grovyle was never one for patience, either.

"One second, Grovyle." Summer gently grabbed his shoulder, stopping his advance. Yes, they should go quickly, but she couldn't just rush through such an important moment without saying something. _Anything_.

"Yes?" the Wood Gecko Pokémon inquired, biting back his tone of impatience. "What is it?"

"We should go in together, so we don't risk being separated." Her hand traveled to his, grasping and squeezing it lightly.

"I suppose that makes sense," he relented, looking up at her. Though he was itching to go, Summer noticed something else within his eyes: a swirling watercolor portrait of hope and determination. She had seen this spirit within him before but never had it burned so brightly.

"Grovyle..." Summer began, but she found it hard to let the words fall out. With a broken smile, she finally released the emotions she had harbored within for so long.

"I'm so proud of you. Of us. I'm so happy that I met you, and that we decided to commit to this plan together. Even though doing so has been super dangerous... every moment I've spent with you and Celebi has been well worth the risk." She allowed only a singular droplet to fall onto her cheek before continuing.

"Thank you for everything, really. I'll... I'll miss you so much." Grovyle gazed at her solemnly, gently dragging his claw along her skin.

"Summer, you've meant just as much to me. You're a very special and courageous human. But this is far from over. We still have some time together, so let's make the most of it."

"Yes, of course," she sniffed. "There is still much that needs to be done." She caressed his hand, mentally preparing herself for their task ahead.

"Okay. I'm ready," Summer whispered. With a nod, the two stepped forward as the whining noise reached its maximum pitch. But just as they crossed the threshold, Summer was slammed from behind by a sudden and tremendous force. She cried out in shock and pain, her body flung forward as her spine nearly buckled. Grovyle got pulled along by the momentum, and he released an outburst of confusion. But he didn't have the opportunity to look back. He instinctively dug his claws into Summer's skin, latching onto her with an iron grip as they were tossed around by the dizzying realm.

According to Celebi, the journey through the Passage of Time was going to feel turbulent and disorientating. But now, on top of that, Summer Asher felt her nerves ignite into an all-consuming fire of pain. Her body, already battered from the initial impact, was violently thrown about as the pair spiraled towards the cosmic vortex. (Somehow, Grovyle managed to hold on to her for everything he was worth.) Considering the amount of trauma she was experiencing, it was a miracle in itself she did not immediately pass out from shock.

Amidst the agony, Summer became aware of an awful sensation— one that felt horrifyingly indescribable. Her very cells seemed to rattle as they reacted with forces of time and darkness. A shred of her fiery will poked its head out of the tumult, perhaps being the only thing keeping her alive. Even among this unbearable and unspeakable pain, a single thought dominated Summer's mind.

 _Grovyle! I need... to hold onto Grovyle...!_ But she couldn't feel her hands. She didn't even know if he was still there. Then her ears barely registered the words that he hollered at her.

"Whoa! Wh-wh-whoa...! Are... Are you OK?!" She wanted to open her lips to respond, but she felt so dizzy and lightheaded that she could barely think...

A white line jagged across her version for a brief moment. Its passage burned searing lasers directly into her brain. The effect became amplified by a distinct clap of noise. There were other sounds she couldn't quite place, either: a howling groan, the pounding of something wet...?

 _Wh... What... is happening to me?!_ Her muscles began to spasm. Panic crashed within her like a wave as she tried to pull herself closer to her friend. But she had nowhere to go; she lost control over her motor functions.

"No! Don't let go!" came Grovyle's increasingly distorted voice. "We're almost there! Just a little longer... Come on! Hang on!"

 _N...No...! Grovyle!_ To Summer's horror, her conditions continued to spiral out of control. Her very senses seemed to be shutting down now: her hearing and sight began to fade as her systems started to unwind. Her brain probably couldn't keep up with the sensory overload. Everything was just too chaotic, too much...

Another jagged flash, another acute— but rapidly fading— sensation of agony. The howling from before whistled and died. Summer, in her last burst of defiance, tried to squeeze her fist around Grovyle and thrust herself towards him. But the body could not follow the command of the brain.

"N-n-no!" she barely managed to growl, feeling her consciousness waver in and out. "I can't... hold on...!"

A sudden violent shockwave tore through her, and that was all it took. Not that she even knew it— by now, she lost nearly every sense that she was human. But perhaps this was a blessing, for otherwise she would have felt her every atom being literally torn apart. Nevertheless, a last choked cry escaped her viciously. Then, these final echoes of Summer Asher spun into an oblivious and isolated darkness.


	3. Chapter 1: A Storm At Sea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To clarify matters from the prologue: Third person narration is used to recount Summer's human experience (and for when a scene focuses on other characters), while first-person narration is used to recount her experience as a Pokémon. Being unable to remember her life before, the human version of Summer has become so distant that she may as well be a different person entirely (hence the narration change... if that makes sense).
> 
> I include some in-game dialogue, but I also take a lot of creative liberties. One important change involves the thoughts of the protagonist being in italics and not parenthesis. I will also have Summer speak out loud.
> 
> I am repeating a small snippet of the dialogue from the last chapter for the readers who chose to skip it.

_"Whoa! Wh-wh-whoa...! Are... Are you OK?!"_

_"No! Don't let go! We're almost there! Just a little longer... Come on! Hang on!"_

_"N-n-no! I can't...hold on!"_

" _Waaaaaah!"_

* * *

The rain fell hard that night. Lightning struck the waves with an unrelenting fury, the booming thunder combining with the groaning winds in a harrowing cacophony. The crests of the ocean waves rose fast, its waters choppy and restless. It had been quite a while since Treasure Town experienced a storm this intense.

Nature's fury even targeted the famous Sharpedo Bluff, as it was known to the residents. The peak of this sheer cliff that overlooks the sea was famous for its well carved visage of the Brutal Pokémon. At first glance, it appeared to be nothing more than an unusual monument. But upon a much closer inspection, one can see a furnished space within the mouth. This simple dwelling— containing little beyond a pair of straw beds and a natural fountain of water— sat nestled between the shark’s fearsome-looking jaws.

A bolt of electricity came within millimeters of striking the rock formation, and ground-shaking thunder immediately followed. The frightened cry of a Pokémon became lost within the violent ensemble— specifically, the cry of the one who lived within the bluff. A lone Chikorita jumped straight out of her hay pile and dove under it, her little body shaking tremendously. Why did it have to be so loud?!

 _Aaaah! This is too frightening!_ The Chikorita whimpered, tears squeezing out of her eyes. _Please, just make it stop!!_ The wind merely wailed in response, prompting her to bury herself under the straw even farther. If only she could sink into the stone itself! Her intense fear of being struck by lightning (or by a crumbling boulder) drowned her, pushing her to the brink of hyperventilation. If only her mama was here to comfort her, like when she was little…

 _Breathe, Chika!_ she tried to scold herself, even as her heart felt ready to explode. _This will pass._ But it was hardly easy convincing herself of that when the thunder continued to roll above her ominously. If only she wasn’t alone! Sure, it would still be just as scary, but at least she would have someone by her side. Maybe they would be brave enough to curse the thunder, or to confidently reassure her that no harm would befall her…

_I'm so scared! Why must I be like this?_

Another rattling thunderclap shook her to the bone— this time she swore the bluff itself had shuddered. She released a shriek, shivering and whimpering under her trivial blanket of protection. Chika desperately wished that she could just squeeze her eyes and ears shut and escape her misery. But unfortunately, her wish couldn’t be granted.

* * *

A gentle, yet rhythmic sloshing sound ever so slowly crept into my awareness.

"Urrgh…” I faintly groaned into the dark. My eyes refused to open on command. Why did everything hurt so much…?

Muddled. I felt muddled. Like I was barely anchored onto the tether of reality.

"Where... Where am I?" The words released were incredibly feeble, my voice straining to give them life. I was incredibly weak, but I had to know the answer. I think I felt something grainy against my face. Something was dripping off my forehead. I wanted to wipe it off, but I couldn't find the energy to lift my arm. Even my eyelids felt like they were down by leaden weights.

"...I can't... Drifting off..." I mumbled faintly, my awareness losing the war to the forces of darkness and exhaustion.

* * *

So... Here she was again. Wigglytuff's world-famous Guild.

It was such a quaint looking place, too. The pair of life-size torches outside the giant tent (which was designed in the Guildmaster's image) billowed and flickered brightly into the sunset sky. Brilliant shades of orange were painted onto the clouds, the gradient giving way to vibrant pinks and purples. The wooden sculptures of various Pokémon sat atop of each other in a totem-like pillar, guarding the entrance to this sacred spot.

But Chika wasn't here to admire the scenery.

 _How many times have I been here?_ she asked herself. _Four times? Five? Does it even matter anymore?_ All her visits were beginning to blur together into one indecipherable mass. But the outcomes of all were inevitably the same.

"Hmm..." Chika dragged the sound out, her upper lip pursed outwards. She began to pace back and forth in front of the grate. That cross hatched, menacing, _unfathomable_ grate. Every time she came here, it taunted her from within its cobblestone nest in the ground. With a half-stifled growl, she halted and whirled around to face it.

"No. I refuse to be paralyzed by this any longer! This is it. Today, I'm going to be brave." With a newfound surge of determination and a puff of her lips, she moved her stubby little legs onto the grate. Chika gulped expectantly, trying to steer her gaze away from the harrowing gaps in-between the bars. And, as always, a suddenly loud voice shouted at her from below, causing her to practically jump out of her own skin.

"Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!"

"Whose footprint?" called a more distant, yet gruffer voice. "Whose footprint?"

"The footprint is Chikorita's! The footprint is Chikorita's!"

Chika cried out in fright, her instincts having her leap back towards safety. Her entire body felt rife with fear. She whipped her head back and forth in inspection, as if expecting these Pokémon to jump her at any moment. Only once everything remained deadly quiet could she begin to relax.

"That shocked me!" She shivered in place, trying to bring her heartbeat down to a reasonable level. Slowly, her face relaxed, her eyes closing as she took a deep breath. Then she released an audible sigh of relief, letting her anxiety exit with it. Once the fear passed through her completely, she realized that— once again— she had failed to do it. Chika hung her head in disappointment, her eyes slanted downwards in shame.

"...I can't... I can't bring myself to go in," Chika groaned. "I vowed that I would do it today, but..." Reaching into the handkerchief tied around her neck, her mouth gently plucked out a moderately sized stone. This stone seemed cleaved in half: one side remained a bulky mass of sandstone while the other was completely flat and smooth. A peculiar mandala-like pattern graced the stone’s level face, its paint white and somewhat faded. Her foreleg placed the stone in front of her on the ground. All she could do was stare longingly at her object of comfort, wondering if her dream was simply never meant to be.

"I thought that holding onto my personal treasure would inspire me..." Chika continued glumly. Her head shook back and forth in humiliation, and she transferred the stone back into its hiding place with a sigh. Her leaf began to tremble in dismay.

"I just can't do it. I'm such a coward…. This is so discouraging," she mumbled, her voice small and quiet. Once more suffering the bitter taste of defeat, Chika slowly turned around to face the setting sun. Keeping her gaze to the ground, she plodded her way back towards the top of the staircase. But what she didn't see were two rogue Pokémon who crept out from behind a totem pole.

"Hey, Zubat. Did you get a load of that?!" the first asked.

The second nodded. "You bet I did, Koffing."

"That little wimp that was pacing around... Had something good, right?" Koffing gave a sideways glance to his winged companion.

"That wimp had something, that's for sure. It looked like some kind of treasure."

"Do we go after it?" Koffing asked.

Zubat gave a deviously fanged sneer. "We do."

* * *

Her head hung low, Chika dragged her feet along the gritty sand. Maybe she should just finally give up. Even if she could get in, the guild would never accept someone as timid as her…

A bubble floated into her path, flying right past of her nose. With a chirp of surprise, she looked up, finding herself near the shoreline. Countless other bubbles were drifting in the air and heading west.

"Wow!" Chika marveled, instantly perking up. “What a beautiful sight!” Her eyes began to sparkle as she followed the bubbles and approached the waves. These precious vessels shimmered in the dying light. Their surfaces looked so delicate, yet so colorful and free. She watched as the golden sphere in the sky worked its sunset magic on these wonderful bubbles.

"When the weather's good, the Krabby come out at sundown to blow bubbles," she recalled. "All those bubbles, reflecting the setting sun off the waves... It's always so beautiful." She reveled in the silence for a minute, taking the time to enjoy this uncommon sight. Occasionally, a gentle current of wind would push the bubbles around a little, but they always managed to stay intact.

 _Yup. This is where I always come when I feel down on myself…_ “But it makes me feel good to be here, like always," she said wistfully, tucking a small smile onto her face. "Coming here heals my spirits.” After spotting a particularly pretty bubble, her gaze followed the sphere to her left, her body shifting in unison. But she froze in place the moment her eyes caught sight of something else.

"Hey... what's that?" Chika wondered aloud. _What's going on over there?_ She began to walk parallel to the shoreline, her curiosity getting the best of her. As she moved closer, she got a better look. It took her a moment to recognize it as a body; she froze and gave a small gasp of horror.

"Waah! It looks like someone collapsed!" Chika exclaimed, the realization causing her to run ahead. Sure enough, just before a large red stone embedded in the sand lay the motionless figure of a Vulpix. She had to make sure they were alright!

* * *

"What happened?! Are you OK?” A feminine voice cut into my consciousness. Even so, I struggled to focus on it, my mind slowly rising to awareness. I feel so drained…

Had I been awake earlier, or did I imagine that? The thought unleashed a flare of anxiety, and my eyes opened in a shot. All I saw was… the red stone beneath me and the sand beyond it. Sticking out like a sore thumb were a set of pale green legs with single-nailed toes. Confused, I ignore the aches in my muscles and bones as I slowly rise with a moan. The legs belong to a Chikorita with a very concerned look on its face. Oddly, the Pokémon stood level to my line of sight.

 _Either Chikorita are bigger than I remember, or…_ I blinked rapidly, trying to adjust to my new surroundings. It didn’t take long to figure out I was on a beach. And were those bubbles? Where were they coming from? I shook my head in puzzlement and slowly rotated my shoulders, trying to determine if anything felt sprained.

"You're awake! Thank goodness!" the Chikorita sighed in relief. She looked rather unremarkable, except for the red bandana tied around her neck. I squint against the dying light, eyeing the tidal line to my left.

 _Where... Where am I?_ I thought, frowning in confusion. This may be a beach, but I don’t recognize this place otherwise.

"You wouldn't move at all," the Pokémon continued to chatter. "I was really scared for you! Do you have any idea of how you ended up zonked out here?" I just stared at her blankly, unsure what to make of this situation.

 _Zonked? Meaning… I was unconscious? What happened?_ I shook my head; I was at a loss. But then a sick feeling hit me like a wall as I remembered struggling to stay conscious earlier. Could I remember anything before that? I furiously worked my brain, the internal pit growing when I drew up a blank. What? Why? How?

"No," I croaked out, my voice raspy against my vocal cords. I cough and try again. "No, I..."

"Anyway," the Chikorita interjected enthusiastically, cutting off my train of thought, "at least you aren’t hurt. I'm Chika. Happy to meet you!" Her smile wavered as she tilted her head to the side.

"And who are you? I don't think I've seen you around here before."

 _Um…_ _Who_ am _I?_ "I don't quite remember yet..." I finally answered in discomfort, my breath hitched. "All I know is that I'm human." I don't know why, but apparently that news was shocking to her; Chika actually jumped in place. Couldn't she see what was right in front of her?

"What? You say you're a human? You look like a totally normal Vulpix to me!" Chika said incredulously.

 _Vulpix…?! What the heck is she talking about?_ I looked down, only to find… medium-red paws? What?! This couldn’t be! A sense of panic overwhelmed me as I whipped my head back and forth. Surely, I must be dreaming. Or hallucinating. But when I caught my reflection in a passing bubble, my heart sank into my chest. Instead of a human face, I was seeing a vulpine muzzle with large, pointy ears and beady black eyes.

 _It's... it's true!_ I thought in horror, Chika’s statement now undeniable. _I've turned into a Vulpix!_

"But _how_ did this happen?" I blurted out in panic, struggling to accept this shocking change. "I don't remember anything...!" Chika appeared less sympathetic to my plight, giving me a puzzled frown.

"You're... a little odd," she said finally. "Are you pulling some kind of trick on me?"

"What? Why would I do that?" I replied in exasperation, vigorously shaking my head. I held up what should have been a hand, staring instead at a three-toed paw. My eyes just couldn’t process such a sight.

"You're telling me the truth?" Chika pressed, looking doubtful.

"Of course I am! You have to believe me!" The desperation in my voice was painfully obvious, and it certainly didn’t change the fact that _I was a Vulpix_. Naturally, Chika still looked skeptical.

"OK… Well, how about your name?” she questioned me. “What's your name? Do you remember that much, at least?"

 _My name?_ For a horrifying second, I wonder if even my identity, too, was lost from me. But thankfully, it didn’t take long for my brain to retrieve it. Well, at least my memory wasn't entirely hopeless.

 _That's right. My name is…_ "Summer. Summer Asher," I replied. While the name sounded right, but it felt strange having it roll off the tongue of a Pokémon.

"So, you're named Summer, then?" Finally, Chika's face seemed to relax. "That's a nice name."

"Thank you," I answered tersely, wondering where we go from here. I felt so overwhelmed by shock, yet I was also drowning in waves of uncertainty. I had a name, but nothing else besides…

"OK. Well, you don't seem to be a bad Pokémon, at least." She looked a little nervous, staring downwards at the sand. "Sorry that I doubted you."

"It's understandable," I assured her hesitantly. "I'm sure I sound kinda crazy…”

"Not at all," Chika assured me, though I wondered how truthful she’s being. Her little teeth bit into her lips before she continued. "More and more bad Pokémon have been turning up lately, you see! A lot of Pokémon have gotten aggressive lately. It's just not safe anymore..."

In that moment, I noticed two Pokémon suddenly approaching her from behind: a Koffing and a Zubat, from the looks of it. Before I could open my mouth to warn her, they reared back and violently shoved her forwards. I barely had time to register her cry of shock before I absorbed the impact, Chika’s front pinning me onto my back. I swallowed a helping of sand in the process, my sore muscles crying out in pain.

"Well, I _do_ beg your pardon," sneered a completely unapologetic voice. Their tone makes me bristle as I contemplate this uncanny epitome of perfect timing. I spat the gritty particles of sand out of my teeth, forcing myself onto my feet (or paws, I guess).

"Hey, what _gives?!_ " I growled, trying to keep the irritation in my voice at bay. “That was hardly by accident!”

"Yeah, why'd you do that?!" Chika followed suit; her eyes scrunched in anger as she rose. Only then did I notice something new on the ground: a gray stone fragment strewn in the sand. Where had that come from?

"Can't figure it out?” Zubat snickered in mockery. “We wanted to mess with you! Can’t face up to us, can you?” Although his eyes were eternally shut, I could have sworn I saw a glint of a challenge in them somewhere.

"Wh-what?" Chika stuttered, unable to catch his drift.

"That's yours, isn't it?" Zubat spoke more slowly, pointing his wing towards the stone like he was talking to a child.

Chika gasped, a flare of alarm bursting within her eyes. "Oh! That's—"

"Sorry, kiddo," Zubat interrupted without a hint of remorse. "We'll be taking that!" Without wasting a second, Zubat approached the stone and deftly scooped it into his wing, grasping onto it with his little fingers. Chika released a shriek in protest, but she seemed hesitant to do anything about it.

"Woah-ho-ho!" Koffing finally bellowed. "Not gonna make a move to get that back?” Chika began to nervously lift her foreleg, but it firmly stabbed its way back into the sand. Her eyes wide with fear, she gulped and shook her head painfully.

“What's the matter? Scared?” Koffing continued to taunt her. “I didn't expect you to be such a big coward!" The insult made my claws flex, but I wasn’t sure what to do, either. I mean, I’m not human anymore! How could I control this body? Might I give them a warning shot with… what? A breath of fire?

With a scoff of disgust, Koffing turned towards his companion. "C'mon, let's get out of here. We’ve already wasted enough time with these dolts.” Zubat nodded in agreement.

“See you around, chicken,” he jeered. They parted around us; I had to restrain myself from lashing out when Zubat not so innocuously slaps his wing against me. But I had a feeling striking back wouldn't be the smartest move for a couple of reasons. All we could do was watch them stroll past the crags, disappearing into an opening in the rock face. Chika started shaking, tears gathering in her eyes.

"Ohhh..." She turned to me with a desperate expression. "Wh-what should I do? That's my personal treasure! It means everything to me! If I lose that..." Her voice broke off into a choked back sob. But she quickly shook herself out of it, her face hardening with determination.

"No! There's no time to waste! I have to get it back!" Chika declared, giving me a once-over. "Say, could you please help me?"

I froze in place, shocked by her sudden request. Not five minutes ago, I had woken up with no memories besides my name and that I had been human. And now I was being dragged into something like _this?_ My mind raced.

“Uhhh…” _Wh-what should I do?_ I repeated her previous question internally as I offer a bewildered stare. She didn’t seem to appreciate my hesitation.

"We... We don't have time for this!” she huffed, the leaf on top her head whipping towards the opposite side. “Come on!"

"B-but you can't just..." I sighed, seeing how each passing second only made her all the more frantic. I had been a bystander, after all; I guess it would be cruel to say no…

"G-got it,” I ultimately relent. Chika perked up the moment she heard my confirmation.

"R-really?" she squeaked with sparkling eyes. "You're going to help? Th-thanks! Can we go right now?" She didn't even wait for my answer, sprinting off toward the cave. I sigh again and moved to follow her, trying to fathom how I even ended up in this situation to begin with. But I nearly lost my footing, stumbling along the first dozen steps.

 _Great. Guess I have to get used to walking on four paws now… If only I knew_ why.

* * *

“Here we are,” Chika announced once we entered the cavern. (Yes, thankfully she was kind enough to wait for me). “I think this is called Beach Cave. But it’s looking like it might be a mystery dungeon, so we better be careful.”

“A _what?”_ I asked dumbfounded.

“Oh, right, I forgot about the amnesia,” Chika said. “Don’t worry about it. Just follow me for now, OK?” She took the lead as we trotted through the damp and darkening passageway. I hurried to catch up, but I was puzzled. That term wouldn’t stop bouncing around in my head. Despite not having any idea what a mystery dungeon was, it sounded oddly familiar. Had I maybe known what it was before I lost my memory?

Chika threw her head back to make sure I was keeping pace before continuing. “It’s less daunting than it sounds. We just need to keep our eyes open for something resembling a stairway. That will take us further in. The Pokémon in mystery dungeons tend to be aggressive though, so we have to be prepared to fight.”

“O... K…” I drag out slowly. “And _how_ do we fight them, exactly?” My question must have caught her off-guard; she actually halted in place and spun around in disbelief.

“By using your moves?” she answered plainly, as though the answer was obvious. I threw an exasperated paw (weird to think of it as a paw and not a hand) into the air.

“I don’t know how to do that! How do you even know which attacks you have?” I protest.

“I… I don’t know!” she responded with a flustered huff before pressing onwards. “You just… _do_ it! It’s not something you really think about!” _Gee, that’s helpful,_ I thought irritably.

“Besides, if worse comes to worse, you can shove yourself forward to perform a basic attack,” Chika continued as we passed another pool of water. “ _Everyone_ knows how to do that.”

“If you say so,” I mutter inaudibly.

“Speaking of which, here comes a Pokémon now!” Sure enough, I saw a Shellos off in the distance, slithering its way towards us. And judging by the look on its face, it was not very happy with our invasion into its territory. The paces it took were even with ours until we met face-to-face in a large open area. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a somewhat large hole in the ground. It would have dropped straight down if it weren’t for what looked stone steps leading downward. Was that the set of stairs Chika had mentioned?

“See, just like this!” Chika called out, drawing back my attention. She threw her body forward into Shellos. The Pokémon recoiled sharply at the force.

“Now you try it!” I reluctantly copied her movements, disgruntled by the slimy texture of Shellos’s skin. My reward was a headbutt in the face— Shellos used a basic attack itself. I winced, and my muscles hurt more than they probably should have.

“Watch me, Summer! Razor Leaf!” Chika summoned up a storm of sharply edged foliage, hurling it towards her target. I wasn’t sure how, but that demonstration was enough to make the pieces fall into place.

_I have the moves Ember, Tail Whip, and Faint Attack._

“Uhhh… Faint Attack,” I said lamely, unsure of what to do. But as I took a step forward, my body automatically leapt into action. I deftly approached Shellos and tackled it, my body surrounded by a dark aura. With a squeal, the Sea Slug Pokémon shriveled up and swiftly crawled away in defeat.

“Wow, Summer!” Chika praised me as she approached my side. “That was pretty good for your first time!” I shook my head in puzzlement.

_How did I just manage that? I wasn’t even in control of my actions, really…_

“Let’s just go after Koffing and Zubat,” I muttered, trying to flick the disgusting Shellos goo off my fur.

* * *

Three more floors later, after confronting some other residents and picking up a few items along the way, the cavern opened widely. The ground was covered in sand like all the others, but there were also impressive rock formations scattered about. An opening in the back wall allowed ocean water to lap through, reducing the sand to a rectangular strip. It would have been a pretty sight if it weren’t for the two fugitives in the back.

“We must be at the end of the dungeon,” Chika noted, looking around. “Oh! There they are! C’mon, Summer!” She marched ahead with a surprising amount of purpose. Meanwhile, I was just hoping we didn’t have to fight. But considering how these Pokémon had treated us so far, that seemed unlikely. They didn’t even hear us approach— with their backs facing us, they were too engrossed with their apparent discussion. The duo was surprisingly quiet— I could only catch fragments of their conversation.

“How much… for this piece of junk?”

“Not sure. To be honest… at the guild.”

“The boss might… if we can haggle it—”

“Um, _hey!_ ” Chika finally snapped in irritation. Their body language expressed a mild sense of surprise as they faced us.

“Well, well… If it isn’t our old friend, the big chicken,” Koffing smirked. Chika gulped, closing her eyes briefly and muttering a prayer. But then she took a step forward and scowled, beginning to yell loudly.

“Give me… Give me back what you stole from me! That’s my personal treasure! It means everything to me!” When Zubat perked up in interest, I immediately knew that Chika had said the wrong thing.

“Oh? Treasure, you say? So that thing really _is_ valuable, huh?”

“It could be worth more than we hoped for, I’d say,” Koffing mused aloud. “I was right— we ought to try selling it. Who knows? It might get a good price. Woah-ho-ho! All the more reason not to give it back.”

“You can’t!” Chika exclaimed in horror as Koffing continued to laugh.

“If you want it back that badly… Come and get it!” Zubat dared us. The next thing we knew, the duo was charging towards us for a Tackle. To my surprise, Chika met them head-on, throwing herself into Koffing and knocking him back. Zubat managed to latch his fangs into her skin and sucked some health out of her using Leech Life.

“Oh, no you don’t! Ember!” I yelled, spewing a small ball of fire onto the bat. He growled in agony and backed off Chika. But Koffing was quick to get back up again, releasing a purple, hazy gas in my direction. I gagged on the toxic fumes, trying not to cough viciously as my eyes watered. I saw Chika dig for something in her handkerchief before nibbling down one of the seeds we picked up. Her face grew a tomato red, and she released a flaming blast that made Koffing go down for good.

 _Dang. Note to self: Blast seeds are surprisingly effective._ I shake my head back and forth as the gas begins to dissipate. Zubat was still standing, but he looked a little battered. I dodged ahead to strike with a Faint Attack, and Chika finished things off with a Tackle. That was all it really took; the pair was almost laughably weak. When I was sure that both Pokémon were down, I hacked the remaining smoke out of my lungs, trying to catch my breath. Chika asked if I was OK before shaking her leaf back and forth in mild excitement.

“Wow! We did it!” she squealed. I had to admit that I was impressed with our teamwork, myself.

“Owowow…” arose a faint moan from Koffing.

“Ugh… We got roughed up…” Zubat hissed before the pair struggled to rise.

“B-blast it! How’d we get wiped out by wimps like them?” Koffing blurted.

“Bah! Who knows?” Zubat spat. “Here you go, then. Just take it!” He threw the coveted stone to the floor in disgust while Chika’s face widened hopefully.

“Woah-ho! Don’t think you’re so awesome!” Koffing grunted. “Your victory was a fluke!”

“Yeah, you just remember that!” agreed Zubat. They left us with that, using their remaining strength to scuttle away. I watched them retreat with a special kind of satisfaction.

“Oh! It’s my Relic Fragment!” Chika’s voice brought me back to reality. “Thank goodness… I actually managed to get it back.” With a smile on her face, she dragged the stone closer to her and protectively wrapped it within her makeshift scarf. Then she faced me, nearly looking ready to cry.

“This only happened because you helped me, Summer.” She beamed in an undeniable joy, which filled my heart with gratitude. “Thank you!”

* * *

We were back on the beach. Bizarrely, we didn’t have to go back through the dungeon: though we exited the way we came, a solitary path simply dropped us right off at the entrance. The sun had nearly set by now, but a sliver of the sphere still straddled the horizon. Unfortunately, the pretty bubbles seemed to be gone now.

“Thank you very much!” Chika said again, her grin undeniably huge. There was a part of me that, inexplicably, felt mystified by her overwhelming appreciation.

 _I only helped because I happened to be there… Was that the right thing to do?_ Realizing how ridiculous the thought was, I shook the absurd question out of my head with a slight smile. _I guess so. This Pokémon is clearly grateful. Honestly,_ _it’s nice to be appreciated._

“Here’s what they stole.” Chika took out the mysterious stone and laid it between us. “I call it my Relic Fragment. It’s my one treasure! You see, I’ve always liked legends and lore… I always get so excited when I hear tales from the past! Don’t you feel the same way?” She paused briefly, glancing up at me. She didn’t even wait for my response.

“Hidden troves full of treasure and strange relics…” Chika then turned to the ocean, her eyes glittering in fascination as she continued. “Uncharted territories veiled in darkness… and new lands just waiting to be discovered! Such places must be full of gold and treasure! And history! Wouldn’t it be dramatic to make historic discoveries?” She looked ready to squirm in excitement. Chika spun back around to give me a sheepish grin.

“That’s what I always dream of, anyway. It’s all so exciting to me. And it just so happened… that I found this Relic Fragment. Sure, it does seem like junk, but take a closer look.” I took a step closer, peering down at her precious relic. “Look there. See that strange pattern inscribed on it?” she asked, pointing at the relic face with her toe. Sure enough, there was an intricate white symbol there, symmetrical yet elegant. I honestly couldn’t describe it if I tried, because it looked so exotic.

 _Huh._ _I’ve never seen something like this before._

“There must be some meaning to this pattern, right?” Chika continued to chatter— if she ever seemed timid before, you wouldn’t know it now. “This Relic Fragment must be the key to legendary places! To areas where precious treasure lies! At least, that’s the feeling I get. That’s why I dream of joining an exploration team. This fragment must fit into something… somewhere! I want to discover where that is. I want to solve the mystery of my Relic Fragment!”

“Neat,” I spoke up, my tone genuine. Her passion was somewhat contagious. “Have you ever tried? To join a team, I mean.” Her face fell at my question.

“Um, earlier I tried to sign on as an apprentice…” She broke off, turning away in apparent shame. “But I was too cowardly.” My face became sympathetic.

_Aww… the poor thing. But she did so good with Koffing and Zubat once the fight started. The potential is definitely there…_

“What about you, Summer? What are you going to do now?” Chika asked me with a jut of her lips. “You lost your memory, and you somehow transformed into a Pokémon… Do you have any place where you can stay?”

“Uhh…” _Now that she mentions it… I don’t, do I? I have nothing I can do with myself…_ I suddenly felt lost, even more so than before.

“If not, can I ask a big favor?” My eyes jumped upwards in surprise. What was she going to ask me? “Would you… would you form an exploration team with me? I think we could make a good team, Summer. So, will you do that with me? Please?”

My eyes widened. _Woah! What should I do? I’m getting recruited out of the blue here!_ I winced internally. _I don’t even know what an exploration team is…_ But the more I thought about it, the more the idea made sense to me. I had nowhere to go, and I didn’t have any clue what I should do next. _I... guess it wouldn’t hurt to team up with Chika for now._ To be honest, I felt a little attached to her already. And maybe I’ll eventually discover who or what I am by hanging out with this Pokémon. Besides, how could I possibly ignore the pleading look that quivered in her little red eyes? _OK, that’s settled!_

“You know what?” I finally spoke, a smile growing on my face. “I think I will.”

“Oh? Really?! You’ll really form an exploration team with me?” Chika looked ready to jump into the air with joy, her mouth opened in a huge grin. “Yay! Thank you! We’re going to make a great combination! Let’s make this work!” She hummed thoughtfully, looking off into the distance.

“First, we need to go to Wigglytuff’s place and sign up as apprentices. That’s where we can get the training to become a proper exploration team. I think the training will be very tough…” Chika faced me once more, beaming. “So, let’s give it our best, Summer!” Then she did something a little surprising: she took a step forward and lifted one of her forelegs to the sky in a kind of victory pose. Though it seemed a little silly, her behavior was adorable. I lifted my paw up in a sort of recognition, my head held high.

Little did I know that would be the moment that started everything. It was our very first step into the many fantastic realms of adventure that awaited our arrival.


	4. Chapter 2: The New Guild Recruits

I warily eyed the large pink tent that stood before us, silhouetted in the dusk. Metal bars stabbed into the dirt below, the gate guarding the entrance against both the elements and any wayward Pokémon.

“This is Wigglytuff’s Guild,” Chika told me, motioning to the gigantic figurehead. “To form an exploration team, you need to register your group here. Then you have to train until you become first-rate.” She shook suddenly, her face screwing up in displeasure. “Y-y-yikes! I… Isn’t this place just a little bit odd? It just is!” I gave it another look over. Honestly, except for the giant empty eyes of who I presumed to be Wigglytuff, this area didn’t look too bad. I wasn’t sure why it rattled Chika so much. But then I realized; it must be the failure of her past attempts taunting her.

“No…! I’ve got Summer with me this time! I have to be brave.” With a deep breath, she stepped forward onto some sort of grid in the ground. To the surprise of us both, we suddenly heard a voice yelling up at her, causing Chika to visibly cringe.

“Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!” a high-pitched voice called out.

“Whose footprint? Whose footprint?” a second, much louder voice responded.

“The footprint is Chikorita’s! The footprint is Chikorita’s!”

“Waah!” Chika cried, her little frame shaking fiercely. But she dug her feet into the ground. “N-no… I can’t lose it now…” I frowned slightly. OK, admittedly the yelling was a little jarring and maybe even annoying. But maybe it jarred the nerves more when it came from _underneath_ you.

“...You may **ENTER!** ” the louder voice sounded out again. “Is someone with you?! If so, get that stranger to stand up there!”

 _Wait, how the heck did_ _they know I was here?_

With great relief, Chika jumped to the side faster than I’d ever seen her move. With a frown, she looked me in the eyes.

“I think they mean you, Summer. They said to stand up here.” She gestured to the grid.

 _Oh, of course they mean me._ I glanced down the pit inquisitively. _There’s a grate covering the hole… It’s made so no one can fall through. Still, it’s really strange… It looks like it will tickle my feet, or…_

“Hey, you! Stranger! Get on the **GRATE!** ” The voice sounded more impatient and cross now. With a reluctant huff, I obeyed, feeling the cold metal bars press against my paws. The same rhetoric from before fired up again.

“Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!”

“Whose footprint? Whose footprint?”

“The footprint is… The footprint is… Um…” Curiously, the first voice broke off. Did he not know? I could only imagine the Pokémon down there furiously scrambling through some reference papers or something, at a loss for what to do.

“What’s the matter?! Sentry! Sentry?” the second voice bellowed. “What’s wrong, sentry Diglett?”

* * *

“Umm… Er…”

Diglett was alone down here, so he didn’t even try to hide the panic on his face. He was _never_ stumped by the identity of a Pokémon’s footprint. That hadn’t happened in a very long time. But now he was uncomfortably fidgeting, looking to the vines hanging down from the ceiling as though they held the answer.

“Umm… The footprint is…” he began again, furiously working his brain back to his training. Whatever this footprint was, it certainly didn’t belong to any of the typical residents. The print resembled the typical feline paw— he wanted to say Glameow or Skitty, but these toes were much more defined, and the paws were missing their distinctive pads. What other Pokémon could possibly look like this…?

“Maybe Vulpix’s! Maybe Vulpix’s!” he finally ventured with uncertainty, turning his face back towards the tunnel.

“What?! **MAYBE?!** ” roared his superior, causing him to jerk back.

“B-but…” Diglett felt a bead of sweat drip down his forehead. “It’s not a footprint you normally see around here…”

“ **UGH!** That’s pretty crummy! Checking the footprints of visiting Pokémon… That’s your job, **ISN’T IT** , Diglett?” The Mole Pokémon winced at the amount of contempt in his superior’s voice. If he was so frustrated, why shouldn’t _he_ come down here and do the job for him? With a sigh, Diglett bobbed his head up and down nervously.

“Yes, but… I don’t know what I don’t know.”

* * *

I attempted to raise an eyebrow— before remembering I didn’t have those anymore —while Chika fidgeted awkwardly. “What? Are they arguing?” she wondered aloud.

“Sounds like it,” I replied. “Can I maybe get off this grate now? I don’t like how it feels.”

“...Sorry to make you **WAIT**.” The deep tenor voice brought me back to attention. “Well, it’s **TRUE** that you don’t normally see any Vulpix in these parts… But you don’t **SEEM** to be bad…”

_Gee, thanks, I guess? Again, how can you tell though?_

“OK, good enough. **ENTER!** ” With a rumble and a cranking noise, the gate slowly lifted, the spearheaded arrows retreating into their shelter. It was now too dark out to properly see anything inside, though.

“Yikes!” Chika exclaimed with a jump. “I’m so nervous and jittery!” She took a quick breath, calming herself before continuing. “But I’m glad that we’re finally allowed in. This is the furthest I’ve ever gotten. My heart won’t stop pounding, though… Anyway, let’s go.” I was just grateful (no pun intended) to get off that wooden grid. Did Chika really just say she could never get past the grate? Was she always this timid? The thought actually made me kind of sad for her.

Upon entering the tent, my vision adjusted to the dark rather quickly. Large orange banners hung on the back wall, with dark markings depicting Wigglytuff’s(?) face and the footprints of various Pokémon. Red writing was scrawled upon two different wooden signboards, the right in the shape of an arrow pointing downwards. Some larger stones and tufts of clovers dotted the dirt, while voluptuous ferns crawled down from the ceiling.

“There’s a hatch that leads underground here!” Chika pointed out. Sure enough, a wooden pole with crossing beams stuck out from a hole in the ground. Probably meant to be some kind of ladder or something. It was a little awkward to climb down on four legs, but I managed, carefully descending from rung to rung. A buzz of chatter and an increase in ambient light alerted me to the presence of a new floor, and we leaped off the pole. The floor was grassier here, and there was more hanging greenery. But these details were unremarkable compared to the sheer number of Pokémon I saw milling about.

“Wow!” Chika breathed, her eyes growing wide. We made our way to the center of the room, my ears picking up snippets of conversation along the way.

“Next time, we should do at _least_ a C-rank job…”

“The reward we got for that outlaw was hardly worth the trouble!”

“Wanna explore the Oran Forest tomorrow? I’ve heard there’s treasure…”

I swiveled myself around, noticing that most of the Pokémon were in pairs. A Seedot and a Pidgey here, a Wurmple and a Swellow there, a Bidoof and a Sunflora staring up at something against the far wall.

“So, this is Wigglytuff’s Guild!” Chika spoke in awe, a giddy expression on her face. “There sure are a lot of Pokémon here! Do they all belong to exploration teams?”

“They must, especially after the chatter I’ve heard,” I commented, a look of interest on my face as I continued to observe the buzz of activity.

“Excuse me!” A pointed voice rose among the chatter. We turned around to find a bird Pokémon hopping up from the ladder below. With a black head shaped like a music note, I could instantly determine that it was a Chatot. His little yellow feet skipped their way towards us. “It was you two that just came in, right?” the Chatot asked, tilting his head to the side slightly.

“Er, y-yes! That’s us!” Chika confirmed, a slight waver in her voice.

“I’m Chatot!” he introduced himself cheerfully. Wait, his name was the same as his species? That was… unfortunate. I’d later discover that this was the case across the board, however. Chika was a bit unique in that regard.

“I’m the Pokémon in the know around these parts!” Chatot continued. “In fact, I am Guildmaster Wigglytuff’s right hand Pokémon!” His pleasant demeanor suddenly dropped as he ruffled his feathers in reproach. “Now, _shoo!_ Leave the premises! We have no time for salespeople or silly surveys. Off you go if you please!”

“N-no! That’s not why we’re here!” Chika protested in a panic, beating me to the punch. “We— the two of us want to form an exploration team… So, we came here. We want to get the proper training.” In response, Chatot seemed to startle, spreading one wing out in surprise.

“Wh-what?! Exploration team?” he squawked, prompting a puzzled expression on my face. Why was he so shocked? This was a guild, right? Then Pokémon should be coming in to request training from time to time…

Chatot turned his back to us, mumbling a little bit too loudly. “It’s rare to see a kid like this want to apprentice at the guild. Especially given how hard our training is! Surely, the steady stream of Pokémon that run away from our rigorous training proves how true that is!”

 _Oh._ I stare down awkwardly at my paws. What exactly had I gotten myself into here?

“Excuse me,” Chika ventured apprehensively. “Is the exploration team training _really_ that harsh?” Chatot spun back around on a dime, his beak agape.

“What?! Well… no! No, no, no! It’s not true in the slightest! Our training program for exploration teams is as easy as can be!” He noticeably perked up, swinging his head to and fro in delight. “Well, well, well! I wish you had told me up front that you wanted to be an exploration team! Hee-heeee!”

_What the heck? That was quite an about-face he just showed us._

Chika seemed to be reading my thoughts, her face a veil of concern. “What a shift in attitude!” she muttered softly.

“OK! Let’s get your team signed up right away, then. Follow me!” Chika and I stared at each other for a moment, hesitant to obey. But Chatot was quick to notice.

“Oh, anything wrong? Come on! Over here! Quickly, please!” I gave Chika a helpless shrug before I took the lead and went down the ladder.

“This is the guild’s second underground floor,” Chatot explained as we stepped into a much quieter and emptier room. “This is mainly where the apprentices stay.” As far as I could tell, though, we were the only ones here now.

“Team registration is this way. Come along, please.” He drifted to the right, and we approached a large set of old wooden doors. They were framed by pink and tan headstones and marked with a red logo. However, Chika seemed more interested with the giant window in the wall, running up to it in earnest.

“Wow! We’re two floors under the ground, but you can still see outside!” she exclaimed. Chatot’s face grew red.

“Oh, please! Hush now!” he rebuked her, causing her face to fall as she turned around. His voice grew insultingly deliberate. “The guild is built into the side of a cliff. It’s only natural that you would be able to see outside.”

“Oh.” Chika, trying to hide her sullen pout, returned to my side.

“Now, here we are at Guildmaster Wigglytuff’s chamber,” the Pokémon told us, becoming deadly serious. “On no account… I repeat, on _no_ account should you be discourteous to our guildmaster.” I frowned a little. Geez, Wigglytuff must be a pretty stern guy. Chatot cleared his throat before raising his voice.

“Guildmaster! It’s Chatot! I’m coming in!”

Wigglytuff’s chambers were a smattering of the ground floor and the guild’s second floor. Here were the decorated banners, the hanging ferns and vines, the tall windows, and the luscious bed of grass. Two large wooden torches sat extinguished, just behind a pair of open treasure chests. These chests seemingly burst at the seams with a variety of colorful orbs and tokens. The flora was also thicker in this room than anywhere else; tropical flower bushes occupied both the front and back corners of the room. It was almost uncanny how uniform and symmetrical the layout was.

A deep pink rug with white trim occupied the center-back. On it stood a bipedal, bright pink Pokémon with white-tipped, rabbit-like ears. His back was facing us, but I didn’t need to see the face to know it was the same Pokémon we saw on the tent: Wigglytuff.

“Guildmaster!” Chatot gently approached him, with Chika and I standing obediently aside. “I present to you two Pokémon who wish to join our guild as apprentices.” But after a beat, there was no response. If Wigglytuff had heard Chatot, he certainly didn’t show it. Either his hearing wasn’t what it used to be, or this was some sort of strange test…

“Guildmaster… um… Guildmaster?” Chatot asked cautiously, maintaining a remarkable poker face. Another beat or two of stillness. I was ready to say something when Wigglytuff suddenly spun around unprovoked. The movement was so quick and agile that it stunned me into silence, while Chika jumped nervously.

“Hiya!” Wigglytuff greeted us in an overwhelmingly cheery voice— one that was also way deeper than I expected. “I’m Wigglytuff! I’m the guild’s Guildmaster!” He smiled wide. “You want to form an exploration team? Then, let’s go for it!”

Well, he was certainly quick to get down to business once he responded to our presence. I could definitely get used to that.

“First we must register your exploration team’s name!” the Pokémon continued dutifully. “So, tell me your team’s name?” Chika’s mouth dropped in shock, like the mere suggestion was a bombshell.

“Oh? Our team’s name?” She squirmed in place, her eyes downcast in embarrassment. “I… didn’t think about a team name.”

“You didn’t?” I echoed vaguely in mild disbelief.

“I never thought I’d get this far,” she mumbled, her cheeks turning a bright crimson. “But never mind that.” She turned and faced me, tilting her head slightly. “Well, what do you think would be a good name for us, Summer?”

 _Recruiting me out of the blue for something again, I see… Well, at least she wants my input. But… gosh, that’s a good question._ A team name? What even consisted of a good team name? Heck if I knew. _Well first off, a good title would be something that accurately represents both of us, right? So, what if I combine our names or our types? Or something like that…_

I almost immediately threw out the “combining names” idea, simply because “Chikummer” or “Summika” didn’t sound all that practical. That left me with our types. _I’m a Fire type, while she’s a Grass type. What kind of name would combine both elements? The first thing that comes to my mind is something like burning leaves, so maybe… Ember Leaf? Mmm, not quite. I don’t like the sound of the first syllable. What if it was something like… Amber Leaf?_

That sounded much better. I would have given myself more time to consider other options, but everyone was staring at me expectantly. I couldn’t afford to dawdle. My sudden burst of inspiration would have to do.

“How about Amber Leaf?” I finally suggested, hoping my idea appeared better than it sounded. “It, uh, combines her type and my pelt color, I guess.” Chatot gave me a look like I grew a second head, while Chika seemed intrigued by my input.

“...Amber Leaf? Team Amber Leaf!” she said excitedly, alleviating my fears. “I like it! It’s a good name! It’s perfect for us!” Chika nodded in approval; even Wigglytuff looked pleased.

“All settled, then!” Wigglytuff spoke. “I’ll register your team as Amber Leaf.” He whipped out a piece of paper, which was crinkled and riddled with scratchwork. He also brought out some sort of writing utensil I couldn’t quite recognize. He began scratching against the sheet, occasionally scuttling back to his chests to sort and toss some items into a box. All the while, he murmured in a sing-song voice, “Registering! Registering!” I had to hold back an entertained laugh at the sight. Wigglytuff certainly seemed… _unique_.

“All registered! …YOOM- **TAH**!” Wigglytuff suddenly yelled, leaping into the air. Inexplicably, a bright light shone at the peak of his jump, followed by a distinct pair of clapping sounds. This only furthered my sense of amusement, and I once again wished that I had eyebrows to raise. Was that a move he just showed off? How else could he produce light and sound effects? The only other reasonable explanation was through Chatot, but he hadn’t moved a feather during this demonstration. He was apparently used to this kind of thing.

“Congratulations!” Wigglytuff glowed. “From now on, you’re an official exploration team! I present you with this in commemoration.” He presented the medium-sized box he just put together, its surface shimmering in gold. “There! One Pokémon exploration team kit, at your service!” the Guildmaster announced proudly.

“An exploration team kit?” Chika repeats in question. Wigglytuff’s head bounced up and down.

“Yup. It’s what every exploration team needs. Quick, open it up.” I approached the latched box and lifted a paw before remembering I didn’t have opposable thumbs anymore.

 _Right. How long will it take for me to get used to this body?_ I wondered.

“I got it.” Chika saved me graciously by pushing her toe in the middle of the latch, popping it open without a sound. I probably could have guessed it was something that simple…

What we found inside didn’t look like much at first. There was a large piece of parchment paper rolled up with a tan ribbon, along with a small leather knapsack. The latter had a red handle, its cover buttoned by a fancy looking emblem. This same emblem also sat on top of the bag itself: a badge of some sort with two white semi-circles, a pale pink center, and a pair of golden wings on the side.

“Yes! There are all sorts of good items in here!” Chika marveled. Wigglytuff nodded and proceeded to point to each item in explanation, starting with the handheld emblem.

“That’s your explorer badge! Well, that’s one of them: the other is in the bag. But this is your official team identification, and it holds your footprints on the back! It also identifies your team rank, based on its design and colors. It’s super important for rescue missions, so try not to lose it!” He puts a paw on the scroll. “And here’s the wonder map, which is a wonder of convenience! Exploration teams use it all the time to determine where they’re going, and to chart new territory.” He then brought our attention to the bag. “Finally, there’s the treasure bag. It let you carry items you find in dungeons. Your successes as an exploration team can lead to bigger and bigger space for your treasure bag. It’s a very wonderful bag!”

“Thank you so much for these,” I replied gratefully. At least we wouldn’t have to carry only half a dozen items in Chika’s handkerchief anymore.

“Of course. Have a peek inside your bag,” Wigglytuff coaxed us, prompting Chika to undo the snap and peer inside. There were three items present: the other ID badge, a red headband, and a plain white bow. “Those accessories are special. I’m sure they will help you on your adventures! The Power Band strengthens your attack, while the Aura Bow increases all of your stats.”

“Aura Bow?” I echoed. That sounded intriguing.

“Uh huh,” Wigglytuff replied with a nod. “It’s said to reflect the aura of the person who touches it. Here, why don’t you try it?” He grabbed the bow and placed it in front of me. Curious, I lightly placed my paw on the middle of the bow.

“There you go. Just leave it there for a few seconds…” Wigglytuff instructed me. I did as he said, and the bow eventually turned a bright and vibrant orange.

“Wow!” Chika gasped. “That’s so amazing, Summer! Hey, do you think I could have one, Wigglytuff?” He shook his head regretfully.

“Sorry. They’re relatively rare, so I only give out one per team. But if you ever choose to wear it, it will change color to reflect your aura, too.”

“Okay! In that case, I’ll take this for now.” Chika shook off her handkerchief and snatched the Power Band, wrapping it around her neck. “I’ve always wanted to have a higher attack!” Then she gave me a nervous glance. “Whoops. Sorry, Summer. Guess I should have asked which one you wanted, first. I just got so excited!”

“It’s fine, Chika,” I reassured her, using my paws to pick up and fasten the bow onto my neck. “I kind of wanted this one anyway.”

_Orange, huh? I wonder what that says about my “aura”…_

“Th-thank you!” Chika piped up with a huge grin. “We’ll do our best!”

“Yup,” Wigglytuff said. “But you’re only apprentices right now. So do your best… to train!”

“We will!” Chika turned to me in excitement. “Let’s always do our best, Summer!” She even launched into her pose after I nodded in agreement. Though that felt somewhat embarrassing in front of the Guildmaster, I followed suit. Little did I know at the time that it was a totally normal practice we would do every day.

* * *

Chatot led us down a bare stone corridor, with two other halls branching off to the left and right. He disregarded these halls and guided us straight ahead instead, where the end of the passage opened up into a circular room. It was very barren, with only a window darkened by the encroaching night, two adjacent piles of straw, and an old, dusty treasure chest with its lid wide open.

“This is your room,” Chatot told us plainly, though I felt the place barely qualified as such. At the very least, we had a place to sit. I strolled up to the hay pile farthest from the hallway and felt around it with my paw. The straw was a good balance of dry, springy, and firm.

“Yay, we get beds!” Chika cheered, making herself comfortable on the other pile.

Oh, _beds._ That made sense. In that case, I was glad I picked the pile _further_ from the doorway. Something about the seclusion and how it seemed to be quieter appealed to me.

“You will live here while you work for us,” Chatot continued, trying to hide his undertone of disdain at Chika’s extensive enthusiasm. “Things will start getting busy for you tomorrow! So, rise early and start living up to our code! Don’t stay up late. Get some sleep early tonight! That is all.” With that, the Music Note Pokémon retreated into the corridor. Now that he mentioned it, between my knockout earlier and our dungeon adventure, I was feeling pretty wiped.

* * *

The silver light of the full moon cast its ethereal beams through the window. I was laying down on my stomach, with my head resting on my outstretched paws. It was the best position I could find for myself, in this body I was still trying to get accustomed to. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that Chika had simply tucked her forelegs under her and closed her eyes. I was trying to sleep, but it was honestly very difficult. So much had happened… and I still have none of the answers.

“Say, are you still awake, Summer?” Chika’s voice probed into my thoughts.

“Unfortunately,” I mumbled, opening an eye. “What’s up?”

“Well, my heart’s been racing all day… But I’m glad I forced myself to come here.” I swiveled around to face her, her eyes staring at me intently. “I thought Wigglytuff would be kind of scary,” she confessed, “but he was pretty nice.”

“And a little unusual,” I added. “Are you looking forward to what’s ahead?”

She nodded. “Oh, yeah! We’ll experience all sorts of new stuff starting tomorrow, but I’m not very frightened. Actually, I can’t wait to see what new adventures are in store for us!”

“Me too.” I gave a small smile. “I’m glad you could finally work up the courage to follow through.”

“Aww… Thanks, Summer. Me too.” She released a cute, high-pitched yawn. “I’m getting a little sleepy, now… Let’s give it our all tomorrow.”

“All right, sure,” I said.

“OK, Summer,” Chika mumbled, closing her eyes. “Sleep tight.”

I followed suit. “You too, Chika.”

It didn’t take her long to fall off, as evidenced by her deep and slow breaths. But after shifting around to face the wall, I didn’t fare any better. I felt exhausted, but my mind was still trying to process the events from today.

_Um… Now I’m suddenly apprenticing at the guild… I gotta admit, it’s pretty exciting to be in an exploration team. And it’s fun to be friends with Chika. But first things first… who am I, really? How did I turn into a Pokémon? How did I end up unconscious on that beach?_

Of course, there was no one to answer me. Just me and my tremulous thoughts… and this big, frustrating mystery. A mystery that managed to destroy the remnants of whatever life I had before.

_Ugh. I’m feeling sleepy too… Well, thinking about it won’t help right now. I’d better focus on the guild’s work for now. If I do that, well, everything should become clear eventually... I’ll surely get to the bottom of this in no time._

_...I hope._

* * *

“HEY! HEY THERE! **RISE AND SHINE!!** ” A screaming bellow violently jarred me out of my peaceful slumber, quite against my will.

 _Ugh!_ My eyes squeezed shut tighter in a futile resistance. _M-my head is pounding! Wh-what a ridiculously loud voice! It almost blasted my eardrums! Who—_

“Why are you still **ASLEEP?! WAKE UP!** ” With a vague sense of recognition, I realized it was the same voice we heard arguing with Diglett yesterday. I forced myself to open an eye, only to see a very irate looking blue Pokémon… and poor Chika recoiled in shock. I couldn’t help but wonder if I appeared the same way.

“M-my poor ears…” Chika moaned, looking as dazed as I felt.

“C’mon! Snap **OUT** of it!” the blue Pokémon barked without mercy. “I’m Loudred! And I’m a fellow apprentice! If you’re late for our morning briefing, you’ll be **SORRY**! So, **MOVE** it!”

 _Hmph. I’m already sorry this is how I had to be woken up._ But I would never dare to say such a rude thing out loud. Was this our introduction to the “rigorous” guild training Chatot warned us about?

“Guildmaster Wigglytuff has a **BIG** temper,” Loudred continued, barreling right over my thoughts. “If you make him lose it…” He turned around to reflect, shuddering. “ **YOWEE**! That would be one scary scene! I’ve got goosebumps just thinking about it! **YEESH**!” When he hopped back around again, I could have sworn I felt the very floor shaking.

“So, **ANYWAY** … I’m not about to get in trouble because you rookies got **up LATE! SO GET IT IN GEAR!** ” His earlashing complete, Loudred lumbered his way out of our room. I rubbed my forehead somewhat bitterly, trying to subdue my percussive headache.

“Urk! My ears are still ringing…” Chika complained fitfully, vigorously shaking her head back and forth. “What did he say? Something about getting ready?” Her words finally shook me from my stupor, springing the both of us upwards. “Er… Oh yeah! We signed up as apprentices at Wigglytuff’s guild, that’s right!” She bit her lips. “But that means…”

“We overslept,” I finished for her, feeling my stomach drop.

“C’mon, Summer!” Chika cried out in dismay. We were quick to run out of there, bolting through the corridor and into the main area. Two rows of Pokémon were gathered in front of Chatot, front and center of the Guildmaster’s headquarters. Sheepishly, I joined the front row, standing with a Croagunk, a Chimecho, a Bidoof, and a Sunflora. Chika lined up behind me in a row with a Dugtrio, a Corphish, Loudred, and Diglett.

Loudred was quick to scold us again, his voice ringing out in reprimand. “You’re **LATE** , rookies!”

_All right, we get it! Can’t you just give us a minute to adjust?_

“Hush!” Chatot scowled; thankfully, I wasn’t the only one bothered by all the yelling. “Your voice is ridiculously loud!” Loudred released an embarrassed _humph_ and settled down. The other Pokémon were beginning to look uncomfortable with the clamor. It was almost like they knew something we didn’t.

Chatot surveyed our appearance quickly. “Everyone seems to be present now. Very well. Let us conduct our morning address.” The bird turned his beak towards the door, noticeably perking up his voice. “Guildmaster! The guild is in full attendance!” After a few beats, the doors creaked open and Wigglytuff emerged, much to the relief of Chatot. “Thank you, Guildmaster!” he sighed happily. “Please address the crew.”

I guess I was expecting some kind of duty or pep speech, but… he never opened his mouth. Actually, that’s a bit of a fib— his lips did part… only to release a series of snores and stifled breaths.

 _Uhhhh…_ I just stared at Wigglytuff in a sort of dumbfounded shock. The snickering whispers of the apprentices were quick to follow.

“Psst…! Y’know, Guildmaster Wigglytuff never ceases to amaze me!”

“Yeah, you got that right!”

“Yup yup, looks like he’s wide awake.”

“Eek! His eyes are wide open! But he’s fast asleep!”

To Chatot’s credit, he took it all in stride, ignoring the other Pokémon and nodding thoughtfully. “Thank you, sir! We all value your… um, words of wisdom!” He turned to us unfazed. “OK, Pokémon! Take our Guildmaster’s words of wisdom to heart! Finally, let’s not all forget our morning cheers! All together now!”

 _Morning cheers?_ Dutifully, the other Pokémon took in a collective deep breath.

“A ONE, A TWO… A **ONE-TWO-THREE**!” Stuck without knowing the words, I nervously glanced over to observe their mantra. I could only imagine the expression on Chika’s face right now. Or my own, for that matter.

“ **ONE**! DON’T SHIRK WORK!”

“ **TWO**! RUN AWAY AND PAY!”

“ **THREE**! SMILES GO FOR MILES!”

“OK, Pokémon!” Chatot concluded in satisfaction. “Get to work!”

“ **HOORAY**!” They all thrust a hand— or a claw, or their head, whatever they had— into the air, similar to the pose Chika introduced me to yesterday. With that, Diglett and Dugtrio popped into the underground, Wigglytuff retreated back into his quarters, and the rest of the apprentices scattered to their respective locations.

 _What the heck was that all about?_ I bit the inside of my cheek as Chika approached me nervously.

“Umm… wh-what should we do, Summer?” she asked me anxiously.

“Good question,” I muttered, eyeing Chatot. Maybe he could tell us what to do. But he never made a move from his spot. “Maybe we should go up the ladder?” I suggested finally, beginning to inch my way there. “That’s where everyone else went.” But that’s when Chatot decided to finally get into action.

“Hey, you shouldn’t just be wandering around. You two come here!” Chatot began to hop his way towards my previous destination. Chika and I shared a baffled exchange.

“That’s where I was heading anyway?” I mumbled, while she simply gave me a shrug.

* * *

The first floor of the guild was completely empty— a stark contrast compared to yesterday. Chatot guided us toward a bulletin board on the left side of the room.

“You’re just beginners,” he said, “so we’ll have you start off with this assignment.” He motioned to the wall and continued speaking. “This is the Job Bulletin Board. Pokémon from various regions post job requests here. It is the duty of the guild to help our fellow Pokémon and fulfill these requests.” Chatot turned to us thoughtfully, an insightful look in his eyes. “You’re aware that bad Pokémon are cropping up in greater numbers, right?” he asked us. Thankfully, Chika was here to cover for me, because I certainly had no say in the matter… Though her answer threw me for a bit of a loop.

“Yup. Because the flow of time is getting messed up. It’s wreaking havoc, right? Which is why lots of bad Pokémon are appearing!”

 _Wait, what?_ I wondered, becoming confused. _The flow of time is getting messed up? Time? As in hours and minutes? Do they mean something has gone wrong with time here? And, because of that, more and more bad Pokémon are popping up? What is going on here?_

“Precisely,” Chatot chirped, responding to all my doubts. “Time getting out of whack has caused an outbreak of bad Pokémon. Perhaps because of all that, we have noticed an increase in the number of jobs. In addition… and it’s currently unknown if this is because of time’s influence… there has also been a mass outbreak of mystery dungeons.”

_Mystery dungeons? …Oh, that thing Chika was telling me about yesterday. With the stairs._

“So, Summer!” Chika piped up, facing me. “You know how we got my Relic Fragment back yesterday? The place where we found it was, as I mentioned, a mystery dungeon. A mystery dungeon changes each time you go into it. There’s a different layout and different items every time you enter! It’s a very mysterious place. If you faint in a dungeon, you can lose a lot of your belongings. Money, supplies, things like that. It’s probably the wild Pokémon who take them. Then, you get kicked right out of the dungeon itself. They’re rather strange, hence the name.” Her eyes began to sparkle in wonder. “But every time you go inside one, there are always new things to discover! They are really fantastic places to go explore!”

Chatot ruffled his wings in gleeful approval. “Well! You’re quite informed, aren’t you! That makes things much easier for me to explain!”

Chika stared at the ground abashed. “Th-thank you. I did a lot of research surrounding mystery dungeons, once I realized what my dream was.”

Chatot bopped his head up and down. “Well, that’s good! Because our jobs all take place in mystery dungeons.” He turned again to the board. “So… let’s look for a job that you should perform!” After a few seconds of contemplation, his eyes lit up and he snatched down a piece of paper. “Ah, yes. Maybe this will do?” He detached it from his beak and used his feet to push it towards Chika. She accepted the scrap eagerly.

“Oh, really? Let’s read it!” She cleared her throat before reading off the job aloud:

_“Hello! My name is Spoink! An outlaw has run off with my most prized possession: my precious pearl. That pearl is life itself to me! I just can’t seem to settle down if it isn’t in its proper place atop my head! Fortunately, I’ve heard my pearl has been sighted! It’s said to be on a rocky bluff, but this bluff is reported to be extremely unsafe. I could never go somewhere so frightening! Oh, friendly readers, would you be so kind as to go to the bluff and get my pearl? I beg your help, exploration team members!_

_~Spoink.”_

“Wait a second…” Chika blurted out after a moment of silence. She jumped up in anger, her leaf trembling slightly. “We’re only supposed to fetch an item someone dropped? No way! I’d rather go on a bigger adventure than that!” She grew distant as she contemplated the possibilities. “I’d rather look for treasure or unknown places. Things like that!”

Chatot was not pleased by her outburst. “ _Hush!_ ” he rebuked her, eliciting a “ _yikes!”_ from Chika. “It’s important that you rookies pay your dues! Now pay attention! I’ll repeat the warnings again to make sure they stick! You’ll be forced out of a dungeon and sent back here if _either_ of you faints. Including that, you can lose any number of your belongings— even the gifts the Guildmaster so generously gave you. You’d best be careful!” With that, he fluttered his wings in resignation. “If you’ve understood all of that, I suggest you get on with the job!”

“Hmm…” Chika hummed crossly, trying to hide her disappointment.

* * *

After following the directions given to us by Chatot, we arrived at the Drenched Bluff. Layers of luscious green moss crawled over the gray stone piles that were scattered about. Otherwise, the dirt path proved rather bare.

“This must be the bluff’s entrance,” Chika said, turning to face me. “Spoink’s mission description said that the pearl is deep down on the seventh basement level.” She gave a surprisingly serious look. “It’s supposedly very dangerous. Let’s be really careful.”

“All right.” I warily eyed the dripping crags ahead. This looked like the perfect home for Rock and Water types. If that was true, I was not looking forward to the type advantage they held over me. But at least Chika had her own benefits, being a Grass type.

“Let’s do our best, Summer!” Chika interrupted me from my troubles. I nodded along with her, taking the lead to enter the bluff. “How are you feeling about using your moves?” she asked me as the light dimmed inside the cavern. “Do you think you can handle the enemies OK yet?”

“I don’t know,” I confessed candidly, keeping my eyes peeled for that very thing. “Only one way to find out. But do me a favor and cover my type weaknesses, would you? We might not have many items yet, but I don’t fancy getting knocked out in a place like this.”

“You got it, Summer!” she squeaked eagerly. “No worries. I’ve got your back!”

“Thanks, I appreciate that.”

After six sets of stairs and some close calls with some Anorith, the caverns opened greatly. The stones became boulders, and the moss grew more abundant. A large spring sat in the back, the water gurgling from below and tumbling gracefully down the natural tower. Just before this spring, I saw a dimly shining sphere of pink.

“Oh! Over there!” Chika exclaimed as we approached the object. “That has to be Spoink’s pearl!”

“It must be,” I replied, using my paw to drag it closer and examine it. I was picturing more of an ivory hue, but hey, a pearl is a pearl.

“Quick! Let’s take it back!” Chika told me, prompting me to gently roll it into our Wonder Bag for safekeeping.

* * *

“Th-thank you!” a rather banged-up-looking Spoink stuttered gratefully, his recovered treasure gleaming brightly in the light. “That pearl _must_ be propped on my head, you see. I missed it so much! I just couldn’t settle down without it up there, so I was just boinging and sproinging everywhere! That’s why I’m covered in dings and bumps. But thanks to you, that long nightmare is over! You have my sincere thanks!”

 _Man, that sounds rough._ “It was no problem, really,” I acknowledged him sheepishly. “I’m glad we could help you out.” I sincerely meant those words, too— no one should have to worry like that over their prized possession. Spoink nodded and bounced over my way, pulling out some items as thanks. We received some bottles labeled “Protein,” “Calcium,” and “Iron.” But the most incredible part had to be the amount of cash he gave us for our trouble.

“Oh, wow! 2,000 Poké?! We can have all of this money?” Chika gawked.

“Of course, of course!” Spoink insisted. “That’s nothing compared to my pearl’s value. Farewell!” With a smile he departed, bouncing his way up the ladder to the guild entrance.

Chika eagerly tapped me on the shoulder with her leaf. “We’re rich, Summer! All of a sudden, we’re rich!” Her voice was dreamy, and I couldn’t blame her for the excitement. This much money for a stolen item? Maybe _that_ would be worth the rude morning wake-up call. But honestly, I was just as grateful to be sincerely thanked by Spoink.

“Well done, team!” Chatot commended us, stopping right in front of me. “Now, hand that money over, if you please!” My jaw dropped at his command.

“Excuse me?” Chika burst despite herself as I reluctantly handed over the Poké. Chatot turned around to sort the cash as he explained.

“Most of the money from jobs goes to the Guildmaster, you see! After all, how else would the guild earn its profits? And your team’s share of the money comes out to this much…!” With a nod, he finished and handed us a significantly smaller pile of cash. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say my eyes actually bulged from the dramatic difference in size. With an agitated rush, Chika hurriedly used her forelegs to total up the new amount.

“… _Huh?!_ We only keep _200 Poké?”_ she balked, her previous signs of cheer utterly evaporated. “That’s not fair!” I did some quick calculations in my head.

“So, you’re telling me guild policy,” I uttered slowly in my skepticism, “is that exploration teams only retain _ten percent of the reward profits?_ ”

“Exactly!” Chatot confirmed cheerfully. “That is indeed the guild’s rule. You simply have to accept it if you’re going to work here!”

“Hmph…” Chika muttered, her face crestfallen. It was tempting to protest such a hefty penalty, true. But if there’s one thing I’d learned from this morning, it was that there was no messing with Chatot.

* * *

“Well, at least it’s better than nothing?” I tried to console Chika, but she refused to let go of her pout. We were told to wait on the second floor for dinner, which was still being prepared. Loudred and Diglett were done with their duties for the day, conversing with each other close to… some giant vine sticking out of the ground (I’d later find out that was the entry to the lookout post). And Croagunk simply sat in his little shop alcove, his giant cauldron brewing behind him. What was that pot for, anyways?

“But Summer,” Chika seethed, “first we went on some boring retrieval mission, instead of searching for mysterious lands or treasures. Then we lost pretty much all the rewards for our work?!”

“Not all of it,” I pointed out gently. “I mean, yeah, losing most of the money sucks; I won’t deny that. But we kept the vitamins, right? And you can’t tell me traveling through the Drenched Bluff wasn’t at least _a little_ interesting. Besides, we got to help out Spoink! You saw how happy he was! Isn’t that alone worth the trouble?”

Chika narrowed her eyes skeptically. “I guess,” she mumbled, refusing to look straight at me.

“Oh c’mon, Chika. Cheer up!” I told her, playfully swiping at her Power Band. “Like Chatot said, we probably have to work our way up the ladder and do the grunt work first. But before you know it, we’ll be going through those adventures you dream about so much. I know it! Just you wait!”

A thin smile came onto her face as she lazily bopped my bow back. “I guess that makes sense… Thanks for cheering me up, Summer.”

“Everyone! Thanks for waiting!” A feminine voice interrupted our exchange. I saw Chimecho emerge from the hallway, her appearance grabbing the attention of the other Pokémon. “I finished making dinner!” she announced. “Come on! Dinner’s on!”

“ **YEAH!** ” A burst of cheers erupted within the room, even from myself. Except for that one apple Chika and I split earlier in the dungeon, I didn’t even remember the last time I had a proper meal. Literally…

“Let’s go, Chika! Maybe some food will help lift your spirits,” I said eagerly, practically dragging her along to follow Chimecho into the dining hall.

* * *

Chika and I sat towards the end of the long, wooden table. Laden with all sorts of apples, berries, greens, and nuts, it was a colorful feast for the eyes. After we were all settled into place, Chimecho shook her bell loudly, quieting down our murmurs of chatter.

Chatot cleared his throat. “All right. Is everyone ready?” He was met with a chorus of cheers from us. When our voices died, he counted us down (believe it or not), and everyone immediately pounced. They shoved whatever they could grab onto their plates and started munching away voraciously. Chika and I exchanged an abashed glance.

“I thought maybe we took turns grabbing food…?” Chika murmured to me. I could barely hear her over Loudred’s grunts of approval. Part of me was starting to regret sitting next to him.

“Aren’t you kids going to eat?” Sunflora, who was sitting across from me, questioned us cheerfully while chewing down some berries. I just stared at her in a confused manner.

“So, we can just go for it?” Chika replied in perplexment.

“Oh my gosh! Of course! We’re all hungry after a hard day of work!” Sunflora asked for my plate, and when I handed it to her, she piled on a bunch of berries and some apples. “Go on! This is the best part of the day!”

I merely glanced at the others, who were pulling off some extraordinary multitasking between eating and conversing. It looked like everyone was having a good time, and there was no sign of anyone holding back.

“So much for manners being important.” I shrugged, gingerly accepting the plate back.

“Manners? Eek! Never here!” Sunflora looked floored by such a suggestion. “The dining hall is our one opportunity to let loose and enjoy! As long as we don’t _totally_ destroy the place, the Guildmaster is just fine with it!” While she spoke, Chika had piled on some surprisingly large portions onto her dish. She bent down and took a giant bite out of a juicy Bluk berry, her eyes widening in pleasure.

“Yup yup!” Bidoof poked his head past Loudred, directing his words towards us with a goofy grin. “Why, just look at the Guildmaster himself!” He pointed towards the other end of the table. To my astonishment, the Guildmaster wasn’t sitting at the table at all. Instead, he danced and spun around in place, balancing a particularly large and red apple in-between his ears. I could tell this was a well-practiced routine: his grace with the fruit provided a hypnotizing display.

“Does he always play with his food like that?” I asked Bidoof.

“Of **COURSE** he does!” Loudred cut in. “The Guildmaster just **LOVES** his Perfect Apples! There isn’t a day he goes **WITHOUT** them!” He resumed his meal noisily after releasing a giant burp. Somehow, his plate was already mostly empty, and I hadn’t even touched my food yet. I was still entranced by the way the Perfect Apple bounced and wiggled atop the Guildmaster’s pink head.

A throaty laugh emerged from beside Sunflora, which turned out to be coming from Croagunk. “Meh-heh-heh! He isn’t the only one, really. Diglett and Dugtrio always try to race each other.” He motioned to the father and son, who only paused briefly to cast competitive side glares at the other. “Little Diglett is determined to beat his father one day. Says one head is just as good as three! It’s like a matter of honor for them. Meh-heh-heh.”

 _Interesting,_ I thought, watching Corphish tell a very expressive story to Chimecho as his pincers waved about. Chatot’s beak was buried within his food-- probably the most undignified I’ve seen him thus far.

“Summer, this food is really great!” Chika exclaimed after a sigh of contentment. “But you haven’t even touched a morsel yet! Come on and eat!”

“Oh, right.” I stared at the variety on my plate that Sunflora prepared for me, overwhelmed by my choices. Among the options of berries, I saw some particularly enticing red globes hanging from a large green stem. I grasped one around my teeth and pierced it. I was expecting something sweet, but instead the skin kicked a flare within my mouth. There were no juices on the inside, either; the berry itself was a little dry, but not brittle.

 _Wow. That actually tastes pretty good. It’s like… it’s like a party for my mouth._ My heart seemed to leap for a second, but before I could pinpoint the emotion it faded just as quickly as it had arrived. Was it just because I really liked the taste? Or did it maybe mean something more?

Pushing the thought aside for now, I noticed Chika was looking at me expectantly. I gave her a goofy smile as I swallowed the mushy mess.

“Guess you’re right, Chika. Let’s fill the pit in our stomachs!” She gave me an eager nod. All our former hesitation gone, we eagerly dove into the food.

“Oh my gosh! That’s more like it!” Sunflora praised us, giving me a wink.

* * *

“Say, Summer…” Chika spoke up from her bed, snapping me out of my spiral into exhaustion. “Today was pretty hectic with everything we went through, wasn’t it?”

“True,” I grunted, too tired to even open an eye. “Especially first thing this morning with that rude awakening.”

She released a small laugh at that one. “Right? But I’m glad our first job turned out so well.”

“Oh? Does that mean you aren’t as mad now about how the guild took most of the money?” I asked dimly.

“Yeah, I guess so,” she answered resignedly. “That’s just the cost of training, I guess. We can’t do anything about it. But what made me really happy today, though, was getting thanked by Spoink!”

“Yup… He was definitely relieved… I’m glad we could make a positive difference for him…” My voice was becoming extremely distant as I fell further and further into the vestiges of sleep. I vaguely registered a cute little yawn from Chika’s general direction.

“I’m getting sleepy. I’m going to bed, now. Let’s try our best again tomorrow. Good night, Sum...”

But the rest of my name became lost to the void as I completely surrendered into the arms of slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "The color orange radiates warmth and happiness, combining the physical energy and stimulation of red with the cheerfulness of yellow. Orange offers emotional strength in difficult times. It helps one bounce back from disappointments and despair, assisting in recovery from grief. The color psychology of orange is optimistic and uplifting, rejuvenating the spirit. Orange brings spontaneity and a positive outlook on life; it is a great color to use during tough times to stay motivated and to look on the bright side of life."
> 
> -From "The Color Orange" at www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com


	5. Chapter 3: The Scream

“AND… **THREE!** SMILES GOES FOR MILES!”

“OK, Pokémon! Time to get to work!”

“ **HOORAY!** ”

Chika gently poked my shoulder as Wigglytuff and the apprentices dispersed. “So, what are we doing today, Summer?”

“I assume another job from the request board,” I replied thoughtfully.

“I guess we can maybe go up and see,” Chika piped up hesitantly.” I just don’t wanna get in trouble with Chatot again!” She took maybe a step forward before getting called out by that very Pokémon. I could see her physically hold back a sigh as he chewed us out.

“Oh, you two! Still wandering around lost, it seems…”

 _Wrong again,_ I thought, but I refused to let him get to me. Instead, I brushed his remark off and vowed to remain cheerful. I flashed him a ditzy smile that seemed to say, _“Gee, I guess so! Could you maybe help us out?”_

Chatot shot me a nod of recognition. “Well, come with me.” We followed him up to the first floor again. I spotted a small group of Pokémon— a Togepi, a Ledyba, and a Politoed —by the board we used yesterday. Maybe that was why he brought us to the other unoccupied wall board. Chika looked slightly confused by this turn of events.

“Oh? Last time we did a job, it was from the board on the other side…” She turned her head in the respective direction.

“Correct!” Chatot said. “Today, we’ll have you do a job listed on this side!”

“How is this different from the other board?” I asked curiously.

“Take a closer look!” Chatot invited us. Both of us stepped forward and peered up at the various slips of paper. There wasn’t just writing on them this time, though. I could also see pictures.

“Oh! Look at this, Summer!” Chika pointed her foreleg to the closest request. “There are posters up here that show a variety of Pokémon!” The poster she pointed out depicted a Gabite who had a mischievous look on their face and seemed to be flashing the viewer a wide grin. “Wow, they all look sort of cool! Are they famous explorers?” Chika wondered aloud. It was a good guess on her part, but then I took a closer look at another poster. It was an image of a Spinarak, his expression far from amiable. I squinted to hone my focus, and then my eyes widened. The giant bold “WANTED” caption near the top of the paper told me this Spinarak wasn’t on here for noble reasons.

“Who are these Pokémon, Chatot?” I followed up after Chika, though I could probably infer his answer rather easily. Sure enough, Chatot confirmed my suspicions.

“The Pokémon posted here… are outlaws,” he said. “They’re all shady characters, and they’re all wanted for committing crimes.”

“Oh my gosh! They’re wanted by the law?” Chika’s mouth dropped, as though she was unable to believe such a preposterous statement. I made a mental note to (gently) nudge her to be more observant in the future.

Chatot clucked his beak. “Correct. There are bounties are their heads. In other words, there is a cash reward if you capture one. There are so many aggressive Pokémon around these days that everyone’s finding it hard to keep up with the problem.”

 _Oh, right! Because of the whole “time going out of whack” thing,_ I noted. _But does that really cause Pokémon to become so foul?_ That seemed to be the case. The evidence was right here in front of me, in the form of an abundance of hanging posters.

“And we’re supposed to go catch these Pokémon?” I spoke finally, my voice low with a tinge of apprehension. This certainly wasn’t what I had been expecting today.

“No way!” Chika exclaimed loudly. She squeezed her eyes shut as a shudder traveled through her body. “That’s not possible!” Her reaction only seems to make Chatot perk up with cheerfulness… by a little _too_ much, if you asked me.

“Hee-heee! Just joking!” he sang in a sing-song voice, causing me to frown in confusion.

“What?” was all I could respond flatly. It didn’t take Chatot long to amend his words.

“The bad Pokémon out there come in all shades of badness!” He bopped his head back and forth in a perfect rhythm. “Some of those Pokémon are completely wicked, through and through… But there are also bad Pokémon who are merely petty thieves! So, you’ve got evil to naughty and everything in between! I’m sure we can avoid giving you a job catching a _super_ bad Pokémon...” He released another chirp of laughter, and I gently bite my tongue in dismay.

“Oh.” I fidgeted a little, my eyes shifting downwards in discomfort. “Well… that’s a little better, I guess.” Chika still looked ready to have a panic attack, though.

“So, look over these posters,” Chatot instructed us, “then pick a Pokémon that looks weak enough for you to bring to justice!”

“Um…” Chika hesitated, her features downcast in concern. “You say some are weak… But they’re still bad Pokémon, aren’t they? I’m scared of dangerous Pokémon!” She sounded spooked, and I honestly couldn’t blame her. I was feeling pretty nervous about the prospect, myself. How dangerous could these Pokémon be?

“It’s all a part of your training. You’ll work through it, I’m sure!” Chatot assured us. “But I suppose you _do_ need to be prepared to confront a tough opponent… So, I’ll have someone give you a tour of the facilities.”

 _Huh? How would that help?_ Those two things seemed unrelated, but maybe the guild had some secret “villain fighting” stash I wasn’t aware of.

“Hey! Bidoof!” Chatot called, turning his head towards the ladder. He didn’t even give the Pokémon a second to respond before raising his voice in irritation. “Bidoof?!”

“Yup yup!” An eager southern accent floated up the ladder, followed by the Plump Mouse Pokémon himself. He was panting heavily from the climb, huffing and puffing his little lungs out. “...You called?” Bidoof ventured eventually when he had enough breath to speak.

“Ah, Bidoof!” Chatot finally acknowledged his presence, then tilted his head towards us. “These are the new recruits that just joined us. Take them and show them around the town.” Bidoof locked his beady gaze with mine for a moment. His eyes seemed intense, so much so that I almost shrank away. But then he nodded eagerly and faced his superior.

“Yes sirree!” he squeaked all too eagerly. “By golly, I’ll do just that! Yup yup!”

“Bidoof,” I greeted him with a nod. “It’s nice to finally meet you outside the dining hall.” Chika followed suit with her own hello.

“I want you to pay attention to what Bidoof has to say and follow his orders,” Chatot told us sternly. “Off you go!” I could have sworn I saw the briefest flash of alarm cross his eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it had come. I wondered why, but Chatot had hopped his way down below before giving me a chance to think it over. Meanwhile, I heard a stifled sniffle from Bidoof’s direction.

“Aw, shucks, I’m overjoyed!” His voice became choked up.

“Why’s that?” Chika questioned him with pursed lips.

“I’m glad to have members junior to me! I’m almost overcome right now… I might just blubber with happiness!” Bidoof took a moment, letting a tear fall as he sniffed back a runny nose. “Before you all signed on, I was the most recent rookie...”

 _Aw… Bidoof must be a sensitive guy,_ I thought with a sympathetic smile. Little did I know at the time how significant this moment was for him…

“Well, I’d best show you around,” Bidoof murmured after a minute. “Come with me, please.” As we went back down the ladder, I vowed then and there to make Bidoof proud of us.

* * *

Bidoof reviewed the facilities available to us on the guild’s second floor before we headed outside. I was more used to the grate outside the entrance now, but I still gave it a wary look as our feet passed over it. Upon reaching the crossroads, Bidoof motioned for us to halt. He turned to face a wooden shelter that stood over a round stone pool.

“This is the watering hole, yup yup. Lots of Pokémon use it as a waiting spot while they wait for their team members to finish preparin’. And it’s a good place to review your objectives before you leave for an adventure!” Here, he pointed to the path that ran straight beside it. “You’ll always leave from here to go to a dungeon.”

He took us to the right, passing wooden arrows that directed us towards town. I couldn’t suppress the small sound of awe that escaped my lips as I took in my surroundings. There were a variety of towering tents —some designed after various Pokémon— along with a scattering of totem poles and trees. The dirt path cut straight through the middle (save for a cobblestone circle in the center) and stopped at the bank of the river, where it yielded to a wooden bridge. I could faintly hear the gushing of water as Bidoof stopped us in the cobblestone court.

“This is the main square for the local Pokémon. We call it Treasure Town,” Bidoof revealed. This was news to me, but not to Chika.

“Oh, I can tell you about Treasure Town, too.” She pointed her leaf behind us, towards a black tent with a display of (fake) Poké spilling out from some treasure chests. “That over there is Duskull bank. We can save money from our jobs there, so we never have to worry about losing it if we faint in a dungeon.” She turned to the two tents in the south with a frown. “I know the pink shop is Chansey’s daycare. She helps raises eggs that exploration teams sometimes earn for particularly hard jobs. But… I’m honestly not sure what the brown tent is for. That looks relatively new to me. But I’m sure we can find out about their services soon enough.

“Anyways, the yellow tent ahead of us is the Electivire Link Shop. That’s where you can do things like link moves together, but… it looks as if Electivire isn’t around today.” Sure enough, I didn’t see any Pokémon behind this particular counter.

“And over the river…” Chika continued, “is the Kecleon market. You can buy and sell items there. Past that is the Kangaskhan storage. Items stored there will never be lost. If you ever have any precious items you can’t afford to lose, store them with Kangaskhan before you go on an adventure. And finally, there’s Xatu’s appraisal. Sometimes, you find small treasure chests in a dungeon, but you won’t be able to open them. If you bring them to Xatu, he’ll crack the lid for you.” She released a huge _whew_. “I guess that about covers it.”

“Wow, Chika. That’s impressive,” I commended her, impressed with her vast wealth of knowledge.

“Yeah, well I only live here,” she retorted playfully, rolling her eyes before giving me a mischievous smile. “Although, admittedly not for very long, yet…”

“You sure know a lot though, yes sirree!” Bidoof agreed with me. “And that’s good to know! All right then. Go explore for a little bit and do whatever you need to do. Then come find me when you’re all ready to go. I’ll give you a helping hand with selecting the right outlaw for you.”

“Thank you!” Chika exclaimed cheerfully. “How nice of you, Bidoof!” At her show of appreciation, Bidoof’s little cheeks flushed a rosy pink, and he turned away, abashed.

“G-golly, you’re embarrassing me!” he squeaked out. “Aw, shucks…” I didn’t need to see his eyes to know what he was probably thinking: _“The rookies looking up to me for help? I can hardly believe it… and they even think I’m nice!”_ The thought made me smile. But he quickly shook himself out of it. “Well, I’ll be waiting at the guild’s upperground floor for you.” With that, Bidoof trotted away, back towards where we came.

“OK, let’s go, Summer!” Chika said. “We should head to the Kecleon Market. I’d like to see what kinds of items are available. Before we head back, a visit to the market is a must!”

“That’s a good idea,” I replied before trotting our way towards the bridge. “Isn’t Bidoof adorable? He’s so eager to help us out!”

Chika gave a cute giggle as we crossed over the river. “Yeah, I guess so! He’s been so kind to us, too.” Chika nudged me towards the closest tent to our right. “C’mon Summer, this way.” A green Pokémon I recognized as Kecleon stood behind the counter, but there was also an indigo-colored one! Seeing that side by side surprised me a little.

“Ah, Chika!” cried out the green one, beckoning us closer. “Isn’t it a fine day out?”

“It sure is, Mr. Kecleon!” Chika responded with a smile. “How are you two doing today?”

“Oh, just wonderful!” The indigo-hued Pokémon replied, his voice only slightly deeper than his partner’s. “Is that a new friend you have with you? I’ve never seen a Vulpix around here before.”

“Yup! This is Summer!” Chika introduced me, and I gave a sheepish wave with my paw. “We’ve recently signed up as apprentices at Wigglytuff’s Guild!” The green Kecleon gasped in delight.

“You don’t say?! Ah, this is wonderful news! That must mean you are here to buy our wares! Please, take all of the time you’d like.” With that, the pair vanished into the tent and returned with a small handful of items. I could see some seeds, an apple or two, some Oran berries, and even some round blue… spheres.

“What are those?” I asked, pointing to the spheres.

“Ah, this is our selection of Wonder Orbs for today!” The indigo Kecleon answered me. “Always the finest of tools to help you out in dungeons, whether it’s fighting off enemies, locating items, or protecting yourself against status changes. Today, we have the Warp Orb, the Rainy Orb, and the Escape Orb in stock. Would you consider buying one of these?”

“S-sorry, Mr. Kecleon,” Chika stuttered. “I don’t think we have enough money for a Wonder Orb right now.”

“Ah, that is understandable,” he said, trying to hide his tone of disappointment. “Perhaps another day.”

“His brother, on the other hand,” the other Kecleon spoke up in a singsong voice, “can offer you the easily affordable food items, such as Apples, berries, and seeds! These typically cost less than 100 Poké each!” He slapped down some identifier labels— among them I eyed “Stun seed,” “Cheri berry,” “Apple,” “Oran berry,” and “Reviver seed.”

“Well, all except the last one,” he added with a sly grin. “Reviver seeds will cost you 800.”

Chika gave a small pout. “Well, too bad we can’t afford that, either!” She turned to me to explain. “Reviver Seeds are super helpful in dungeons, especially against the more aggressive Pokémon. If you faint and have one of these in your bag, the dungeon won’t kick you out. Instead, you can chuck the seed at the unconscious Pokémon, and they will instantly regain vitality!”

“Wow, that _is_ cool,” I admired, eyeing the seed regretfully. “But we only have, what, 300 or so Poké right now? Between yesterday’s job, and the extra bits and pieces we’ve been finding in dungeons, that is.” 

“Yup. That should be enough to buy everything else, with a little bit to spare. The rest we can save in Duskull Bank.” Chika dug out the required cash and pushed it forward with a smile.

“We’d like everything but the Reviver seed, please!” she stated. After counting out the Poké, the green Kecleon gave a satisfied nod.

“205 Poké, all accounted for! In that case, please help yourself.” I carefully pushed the items toward us and dumped them into our Wonder Bag.

“We should probably deposit some stuff in the storage,” I pointed out to Chika. “Our bag is getting kind of full already.”

“OK, sure! Good idea, Summer. We’ll do that next.” She beamed at the Kecleon brothers. “Thank you!”

“No, thank _you_!” Kecleon emphasized. “Please don’t hesitate to come again!”

“Will do!” I nodded and then looked at Chika. “All right, to Kangaskhan’s we go!” But before I could lift a paw, I was interrupted by a shout from the distance.

 _“Misters Kecleonnnn!”_ Two small blue Pokémon ran on their little feet towards us. Actually, only one did— the smaller of the two seemed to be actually _bouncing_ on their tail!

“Ah, little Marill and Azurill! Welcome, my young friends!” the Kecleon greeted them joyfully. Chika and I stepped aside to give them room at the counter. I thought about walking to Kangaskhan’s, but something about these little guys caught and held my eye.

“Hello,” Azurill began tentatively. “May I buy an apple, please?” His brother took out a small paper bag and pushed it towards the shopkeepers.

“Oh, most certainly!” the green Kecleon replied eagerly. He retreated to his back tent with the bag. When he returned, I could see the bright shiny surface of an apple poking out.

“That will be 25 Poké in total!” Marill pawed through another bag and presented him the with necessary funds before grabbing the apple bag.

“Thank you, Misters Kecleon!” he exclaimed gratefully, holding up his stubby arms in appreciation.

“No, thank you, my young friends! You are to be admired!” Kecleon insisted. With a grin, they watched as Marill and Azurill skipped their way back towards the bridge.

“Aw, those guys are really cute,” I commented with a soft smile. Kecleon nodded in agreement.

“Yes, aren’t they? You see, those delightful children are brothers. Lately, their poor mother has fallen sick. So, these youngsters come and do the shopping for her.” His voice was filled with respect as he continued. “It’s quite remarkable. Though very young, they’ve stepped up and taken charge.”

“Wow, that’s wonderful! Good for them,” Chika replied.

 _“Misters Kecleonnnn!”_ Suddenly, the brothers had scurried back in a rush, their faces wide with worry.

“Oh? What’s the hurry?” Kecleon gently asked them. “What makes you return in such a rush?” Azurill bounced a little on his tail.

“There was an extra apple!” he squeaked.

“We didn’t pay for this many,” Marill added with a small frown, hoisting the bag back onto the counter.

“Oh, yes…” Kecleon leaned back slightly, rubbing his claws against his face as though in serious contemplation. “That, young friends, is a gift from my brother and I. You needn’t pay for it. Please, share it among yourselves and do enjoy.”

“Really?!” Marill perked up, his face blossoming as he took back the bag.

“Yay!” Azurill cheered, jumping off his tail to bounce around. “Thank you, Mr. Kecleon and Mr. Kecleon!”

“Oh, not to worry, my friends,” Kecleon assured them. “Do take care on your way home.”

“We will!” they beamed together, before leaving the store behind. Chika and I observed as Azurill peered into the bag and tried to nudge the uppermost apple towards him. But then, he must have tripped over a rock or something, because he fell with a _yowch_ of shock. The apple rolled back towards us, making a stop on top of the green shop rug. With a small noise of concern, I approached the fruit, gently grasping my teeth around the surface. I then carried over the apple to the little fallen brother.

“Are tu owkay? I’ve gwot th’ Ahppl,” I released through my teeth, my words muddled by the fruit. I carefully placed it on the ground before helping him get up. He gave me a small and nervous nod, shooting me a look of appreciation.

“W-we’re sorry to bother you. Thank you so much,” Azurill stuttered.

“It’s no problem,” I replied kindly, pushing the Apple back towards his feet. But that was when it happened. Suddenly, my vision wavered in and out, dimming the light around me. _Huh? What was that?_ The sensation happened again, almost causing me to lose balance. _D-dizzy? Or am I…_

With one more surreal visual distortion, everything became a swallowing black. But then a sudden flash of light traveled across the darkness, leaving a pinging noise in its trail. It burst halfway through, revealing… nothing different, at least not that I could tell. That was, until I heard a horribly vivid and familiar scream:

_“H-h-h… **HELP**!”_

I only had maybe a second or so to absorb this before the white light came back, shrinking in upon itself with a resounding _ding_. The remaining darkness quickly faded away before I found that I was once again in Treasure Town with little Azurill in front of me. With a startled sound, I stumbled backward, earning me a very confused expression from everyone.

 _What was that?!_ I thought frantically, my mouth hanging open. _I’m sure I just heard a shout for help just now… Did that come from Azurill?_ I frantically whipped my head around, but everything looked fine to me.

“Is something the matter?” Azurill piped up, his voice sounding puzzled. Chika looked especially concerned.

“U-uh... yes? No? Maybe? I-I don’t know.” I stumbled over my words, unsure of what to say. “I thought I…”

“Hey, Azurill!” Marill hollered from a distance. “What’s going on? Hurry on home!”

Azurill turned back towards the river obediently. “Yup! I’m coming! Wait up!” He offered me one more nod of thanks before trotting back, meeting his brother by the bridge.

“Are you all right?” I vaguely hear Marill ask him. My legs were shaking as I braced myself against the counter.

“Yup!” came Azurill’s distant reply.

“We’re done with our shopping… Now we gotta look for an item we’ve lost! Let’s get going.”

“Yup! I’m coming!” I barely see them depart, still trying to steady my uncertain breaths. It felt difficult to even replenish my lungs with oxygen— something that should be a simple, automatic task.

“Summer…? Wh-what’s the matter?” Chika inquired, approaching my side. “You look like you’ve seen a Ghost type Pokémon!”

“I… I don’t know,” I wheezed, attempting to regain my bearings. “D-did you hear… a shout for help just then?” She gave me a glance of bewilderment.

“Pardon? Uh, no… I didn’t hear anything like that!” She turned to the shopkeepers. “Say, Kecleon brothers. Did you hear anything strange just a moment ago?”

“No, nothing out of the ordinary,” one brother replied with a frown.

“I didn’t hear anything odd either,” answered the other brother. “Are you OK, Summer?”

“I... I guess.” Finally, my breaths become steady and slow. I was still a little shaky, but at least I felt like my paws were planted to the ground. My vision appeared to be OK… and the world wasn’t spinning around me anymore, either.

“That’s weird,” Chika murmured in concern. “You must have just imagined it, Summer.”

“But…” I was suddenly too exhausted to argue. _No, I’m_ positive _I didn’t imagine it. I felt ready to faint there! And then... something happened... with the dark and the light... and I definitely heard it! That shout…_ I could still hear it so painfully clear, the young little voice trembling with fear...

_“H-h-h… **HELP**!”_

There was no mistaking it: that was Azurill’s scream! But… Azurill had been right there in front of me, and he looked just fine…

“Uh, are you daydreaming?” Chika’s voice suddenly prodded into my thoughts with a laugh. “Let’s hustle, Summer! Bidoof is waiting for us, remember?”

“Uh… Yeah, fine… But let’s drop stuff off at the Kangaskhan Storage first,” I muttered, grudgingly accepting defeat. Maybe I really had imagined it… Or maybe, did it happen because I turned into a Pokémon?

_Or maybe… maybe I’m just going crazy._

* * *

“But I don’t think this is something we can just ignore,” I insisted pointedly. It was only a few minutes later, and I found I wasn’t so quick to accept defeat. “You saw how shaken I was afterward!”

“Are you sure you’re not just tired?” Chika fretted. “Have you been getting any sleep?”

“Yeah, I have,” I muttered, my eyes downcast. “But you know what I’m afraid of?” I couldn’t help but stare at the ground as we slowly made our way back through Treasure Town. I was too embarrassed to look anyone in the eye after what happened, even if no one else saw it.

“What is it, Summer?”

“That it’s because of my trans—”

“Say! What are they up to?” she interrupted me, nudging my side. Chika motioned to the grassy area north of the courtyard.

“Hnh?” I grumbled, following her gaze. There was Azurill and Marill; apparently, they hadn’t left yet. Instead, they seemed to be talking to a yellow and brown Pokémon with a long snout.

“Yaaaay!” Azurill cried out with glee, followed by his brother’s eager _“thank you!”_

“Please, it’s nothing!” the Pokémon said modestly. Wait, was this Pokémon here earlier? Did these two know them? After what Chatot said about all the bad Pokemon cropping up lately, I thought it’d be worth making sure. Better safe than sorry.

“Hey, Chika,” I whispered softly. “Let’s check this out.” She gave me a questioning look but followed my lead nonetheless. I approached the small group as nonchalantly as I could manage.

“Hey guys, what’s happening?” I spoke up with a casual tone. The three of them turn to me with a small hint of surprise.

“Oh, hi!” Azurill greeted us. Marill took the explanation from there, though.

“Some time ago, we lost an item that’s pretty important to us...” he began, a look of worry creasing his face. “We’ve been looking all over… But we haven’t found it yet!” He gazed at the yellow Pokémon in admiration before continuing. “Then Mr. Drowzee came along… And he says he may have seen our lost item somewhere! He even offered to help us look for it. We’re so happy about this!”

“Is that right? How nice for you!” Chika grinned. I wanted to agree, but one particular phrase stuck out to me: _“Then Mr. Drowzee came along…”_

 _So, presumably, he’s a passerby. Meaning he hasn’t met these kids before._ The thought made me uneasy, but I wasn’t sure what to do about it. I couldn’t exactly nail this guy on pure suspicion alone. I’m probably reading too much into this, honestly. He looked harmless enough…

“Thanks, Mr. Drowzee!” Azurill piped up again in utter glee.

Drowzee held a faint blush. “Oh, please…I’d have to have a cold heart to ignore kids in need! I can’t turn a blind eye!” With a flourish of his hands, he stepped to the side. “Let us be on our way to begin our search!”

“Yup!” the brothers sang in unison, before leaving us with a brief wave. I went to return it when suddenly a body nudged against my frame, pushing me to the side.

“ _Ow!_ Hey, what—” I exclaimed before realizing the culprit was Drowzee. He looked equally mortified though, turning around with an expression of embarrassment.

“Whoops! Excuse me.” With a bow of his head, he followed the children out of town. I sighed and shook my head: I guess there wasn’t much to be done. Besides, we needed to return to the guild. But then my vision began to waver in and out again, my surroundings becoming disjointed.

_Urk… what is this? It can’t be…_

“That Drowzee sure is nice. You’ve got to admire that!” Chika proclaimed, oblivious to my situation. “With more and more bad Pokémon around... it’s hard to do good deeds.” I was barely paying attention to her words, though. The dimming light oscillated in and out, causing me to dig my claws into the ground for purchase.

 _Not again… Not another dizzy spell…_ Then everything went black before the same flash of light burst across my vision. Only, this time was different:

_There was no darkness now. I could actually see the scene from above. Two Pokémon were standing in an open, mountainous area. Trying to squint through the blue haze, I noticed with an increasing sense of alarm that it was Azurill and Drowzee. The latter even looked angry, taking a warning step towards the trembling child._

_“If you keep being difficult, it will mean big trouble for you!” he growled in intimidation. Azurill shuddered in fright, shrinking away. I could clearly_ — _painfully_ — _see the tears that threatened to dribble out of his eyes. But the worst part was when Azurill opened his mouth, only to release the exact same cry from before:_

_“H-h-h... **HELP!** ”_

_Another unexpected flash ended the scene as quickly as it had begun._

_What was that?!_ I thought in alarm once my vision returned, actually flinching backward in confusion. _It looked like… it looked like Azurill was being threatened by Drowzee!_

“It would be nice if those cute little guys found their item soon.” Chika’s voice came back into focus as I fought to remain grounded. She apparently hadn’t noticed my display of fright. How much time had I missed that she was still talking? None at all? Or more than I was expecting? I opened my mouth to speak, only to release a gasping cough. I still feel somewhat disorientated.

“Huh? Is anything the matter, Summer?” Her voice was behind me, I realized. She must not know that I look as pale as a sheet right now. I turned around slowly, trying to lock my eyes with hers as a focal point. Her voice must have dropped an octave with her next sentence. “Why are you looking so grim? You’re scaring me today…”

“It happened again,” I rasped, trying to gulp in deep breaths of air. I don’t know what was happening to me, but if the kickback was this bad every time, then I was in serious trouble. I dragged her away from the town square, away from the wondering gazes of the other Pokémon. I refused to stop until we were well past the Duskull bank. Then I quietly explained to her everything I saw in my...dream? Vision? I wasn’t sure _what_ to call it.

“You saw Azurill being threatened by Drowzee?!” she exclaimed in shock, a little louder than I would have liked.

“Hush! Please keep your voice down!” I hissed. “Yes, I did! And this time, I’m certain of it! I don’t know if that was happening in real time or not… But we need to go rescue him right away! This is clearly an emergency!”

“AN… oops.” Chika made an effort to lower her voice to a whisper. “An emergency?! Well…” She bit her lip, looking questionable. The sight made my heart sink into my stomach. Didn’t she believe me?

“What you describe does sound like an emergency…” She paused hesitantly before trying again. “Well, it’s not like I don’t trust you, Summer, but… I just can’t believe it! After all, Drowzee seemed to be a sincerely nice Pokémon, didn’t he? I saw the three of them go off earlier… They looked like they were having a good time, didn’t they?” With each sentence, my stomach tied a more elaborate knot. She really didn’t believe me! Sure, I must have sounded crazy, but…

“You’re probably just tired, Summer, like I said,” Chika continued. “Maybe that’s why you had such a bad daydream.”

 _A bad daydream?! Why would my head explicitly conjure up something that specific and malicious?_ “I know what I saw!” I insisted, the agitation in my voice palpable. “You say you trust me? It sure doesn’t sound like it!” I immediately regretted the words as soon as I spoke them. She looked absolutely crushed by my accusation.

“N-no... I d-do, Summer, it’s just…” Chika shuffled her feet awkwardly over the dirt. “We’re only apprentices, you know? Even if what you saw was real, we can’t just go off on our own all the sudden…”

 _“If.”_ That one little word resounded inside my head, causing me to screw my eyes shut in disappointment. What if I really _was_ going crazy…?

“Sure, it’s a little odd, but…” Chika sighed. “We have to focus on our guild work for now. If we’re done getting ready, then let’s go meet up with Bidoof. He should be waiting for us on the guild’s upper underground floor.” She started to go ahead, but I found I couldn’t follow her. I was stewing in a brew of anger, hurt, and shame. I didn’t know what to think anymore… Why did all this have to happen so suddenly?

“Huh?” Chika turned back around. “Summer, let’s go.”

“You go ahead,” I mumbled, turning away. “I’m going to deposit our remaining Poké first.”

* * *

I was still tearing myself apart as we approached Bidoof. I felt hurt by Chika’s skepticism, yet also fearful of my own apparent deterioration. What if she was right? Or, even worse, what if _I_ was right, and Azurill was in trouble right now? Both options were far from appealing. But now that we’re back, I forced myself to crack a smile, pushing it all behind me for now. Like it or not, Chika was right. We had guild work to do.

“Hey Bidoof,” I started meekly, before clearing my throat to strengthen my voice. “We’re ready.” Bidoof must have been daydreaming or something because he turned around with a start.

“Huh? Are you folks all set?” Chika confirmed his statement with a simple nod. “Oh, yes sirree!” Bidoof gave a buck-toothed grin. “I could’ve reckoned that! Then let’s pick ourselves a lawbreaker for you to find.” He tilted his head up towards the board, with Chika and I following suit.

“Well, you’ve got your pick of this sorry bunch of characters,” he announced after a moment. Was he leaving it to our discretion? I wasn’t sure that was such a good idea. I let my eyes drift to where Spinarak’s poster had been; another letdown washed over me when I realized it was no longer there. It must have been claimed by another exploration team while we were away.

“Dang it,” I muttered. _Having the type advantage there would have been nice._

“Let’s see. Which should we pick?” Chika wondered aloud. My only lead gone, I was at a total loss. How could you tell the difference between the naughty bunch and the truly maleficent Pokémon? Chatot certainly didn’t help us out with that part.

Bidoof gently but firmly cleared his throat. “Ahem. As your mentor, how about I do the choosing?”

“Please don’t pick anyone scary!” Chika replied. Bidoof nodded thoughtfully.

“Yes sirree, I hear you! Let’s see…” The Plump Mouse Pokémon squinted as he examined all the requests. “Eenie, meenie…”

“Uhhh… Bidoof?” I ventured cautiously. But before anything else could be said, a siren began to blare throughout the guild.

“Stand clear! Updating listings!” The warning repeated before the wall began to rumble. Startled, I retreated backward with Chika and Bidoof.

“What’s that? What’s happening?” she cried out.

“Oh, that?” Bidoof said unfazed. “It’s nothing. The data is just being updated.”

“It’s being... updated?” Chika repeated with a frown. Without another warning, the wooden board flipped over on itself!

“Woah! Neat,” I remarked.

“Yikes! You saw that, right?” Chika sounded both mystified and disturbed. “What’s going on here?”

Bidoof looked all too happy to explain “Well you see, the Outlaw Notice Board and the Job Bulletin Board are set up on revolving panels. While the panel is flipped over, a Pokémon named Dugtrio swaps out the old jobs with the new ones.”

“Dugtrio?” Chika murmured with a hint of puzzlement. “Isn’t he the one with the three heads?”

“Uh-huh! Updating data is Dugtrio’s duty. Though, uh… this usually gets done early morning. I guess he was running late today.” After a shake of his head, Bidoof went on. “He tunnels into the heart of the guild, then he flips the panel and updates the data. This duty doesn’t get noticed much, but it’s very important. Yup yup! That’s why Dugtrio takes such great pride in the duty that he does!”

“Oh, is that so?” Chika replied distantly.

“Update completed!” interjected the voice of Dugtrio. “Stand clear!”

“Looks like he’s done,” I observed. The wall began to rumble again as the panel flipped over, freshly decorated with new slips of paper.

“Yes, siree! The data is updated,” Bidoof confirmed. “The list of outlaws has been refreshed, so let’s pick one.”

One beat of silence. Two. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Chika start to tremble, her eyes slanted in anger.

“Uhhh, Chika?” I asked her in concern. Bidoof didn’t take long to notice, eyeing her curiously.

“Huh? What’s ailing you? Why are you shivering all of a sudden?” He took a moment to look around, shrugging after finding nothing. “It’s not cold here, after all.” Chika merely gritted her teeth together.

“P-p-please look at this, Summer!”

“...Look at what? I inquired, trying to find what could have infuriated her so.

“At the top!” Her voice became hoarse. “On the left!” I followed her directions, my sights landing on the poster in the corner. The moment my brain processed the image and the description, my heart stopped.

“It’s _Drowzee!_ ” I breathed in horror “H-he’s a wanted criminal!” No wonder Chika was so shaken! We both shared a steely glance.

“We have to hurry!” Chika finally yelled. “Azurill will be in trouble!” I didn’t need another prompt. I took off running the moment her voice stopped, following on her heels. I climbed my way up that ladder like a frantic Chimchar in a race for his life.

“Now what’s going on?” Bidoof’s voice faintly drifted from below. “Where are you all off to?” But we were far too gone to answer any questions he had. We burst out of the guild entrance, galloping our way down the stairs in a hurry.

“Oh! Marill’s over there!” Chika shouted. Sure enough, the little blue Pokémon was nervously pacing around the watering hole. He looked at a loss for what to do.

“Marill, what’s the matter?” I nearly demanded, skidding to a stop in front of him. The look of concern on his face immediately struck me in the gut. _I was right all along, wasn’t I?_

“Where are Azurill and Drowzee?” Chika followed frantically.

“Yes… About them...!” Marill struggled to find his words, looking rather anxious. “After we all left, we went looking for our lost item together… But I wound up all alone when Mr. Drowzee went somewhere with Azurill. I called and called! But they didn’t come back. I got scared…”

“So which way did they go?!” She looked ready to run to the moon if she had to.

“Th-that way!” Marill feebly pointed in the other direction, on the path that went away from town.

“Show us,” I said gravely, making sure to stay glued by his side as he led us away.

* * *

The gray stone peaks stabbed into the sky from their perch on the earth. Except for the occasional stone, only a tuft of weeds occupied the barren cliff path. I lifted my head to stare at the impressively large spikes in front of us. Thankfully, they did not completely obscure our path ahead. A quick look at the Wonder Map told me the name of this place: Mount Bristle. Well, wasn’t that a fitting name.

“So, you think that Drowzee and Azurill went off in this direction?” Chika asked Marill.

“Yes…” He affirmed sadly, staring down at his feet.

“Oh, Summer!” Chika’s eyes grew wide. “The Drowzee and Azurill you saw in your dream… You said that you saw them in a mountainous place, didn’t you?” I nodded grimly.

“Dream?” Marill echoed, scratching his head.

“Um, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it,” I told him tersely. If I was right, we didn’t have a second to lose. “I think they’re up ahead here.”

Chika nodded. “Let’s get going, Summer!”

“Marill, you stay here! And don’t go off with anybody! Understand? We’ll be back as soon as we find them!” I hollered behind us as we entered the narrow corridor. If I had to take a guess, this was probably the entrance to another dungeon.

“Y-yeah!” His voice echoed within the natural pillars for a moment before fading away. I tightened the Aura Bow around my neck before grabbing Chika’s attention.

“I know it’s inevitable, but let’s try to avoid battling as many Pokémon as we can. The sooner we get to Azurill, the better.”

“Right!” she agreed stoically. “I’ll make finding the stairs my first priority!”

* * *

Little Azurill was becoming tired of hopping on his tail. He had long ago resorted to his feet, letting the round appendage bounce behind him. Mr. Drowzee insisted on fighting all the wild Pokémon here, which was good for Azurill. He knew he would have fainted in an instant had he been all by himself.

Finally, the caverns opened back up, revealing an exit. The sun was still shining, its harsh rays glaring down onto the open peak. Azurill gave a frown as he scanned for that shiny blue item. But it was utterly empty up here, the area void of all color and form. He looked left to right over and over again, with Drowzee following behind him. It didn’t take long to reach the area’s edge, where more rocky pillars blocked the perimeter.

“Uh-oh. It’s a dead end.” Azurill turned around to face his guardian. “Excuse me, Mr. Drowzee. Where is my lost item? Could you show me where it is now?”

Drowzee clicked his tongue. “Sorry, kiddo,” he apologized with a glint in his eyes. “Your lost item? It’s not here, that’s for sure.”

“Huh?” Why would Mr. Drowzee have taken him all the way up here, then? Nervously, Azurill searched his field of vision again. He noticed something very important; he couldn’t believe he had missed it before. “My… big brother… My big brother’s following us, right? He’s coming soon?” To Azurill’s surprise, Drowzee shook his head.

“Nope. Your big brother’s not coming.” Drowzee leaned in closer to the child and lowered his voice. “I’ll let you in on a little secret. This was all a trick. I deceived you.” Azurill’s little eyes nearly popped out of his head.

“Huh?!” he blubbered, tears gathering in his eyes. What did Mr. Drowzee mean by that? If only he could find his big brother!

“But let’s not dwell on that,” continued Drowzee smoothly, unaffected by Azurill’s reaction. “There’s a little favor I need to ask. See that hole behind you?”

 _H-hole?_ Azurill faced forward again, peering into the rock face. It took a second, but then he saw it— a tiny opening hidden among the crevasse.

“Well…” Drowzee’s voice grew excited. “There’s a rumor that there’s a trove of thief treasure inside there! But as you can see, I’m too big to squirm my way through that hole. And that’s where you come in!” He sounded so different now to Azurill, so scary and full of greed. With a cry of dismay, he spun back around, wishing he could go back the way he came. This wasn’t what he had wanted!

“Don’t worry,” Drowzee said, even as his tone harbored a sense of insincerity. “Just do as I say. Do that, and I’ll help you get back out of there.” Azurill was really afraid now, his stomach twisting as he flinched backward in fright.

“B-but…” he stuttered, beginning to tremble. He wanted to go home! Suddenly, Mr. Drowzee had become far from nice!

“Go on, get going!” Drowzee commanded him, all traces of his former sympathy gone. He took a few steps forward to corner Azurill, which only spooked the child even more. “Go into that hole, and don’t forget to bring back the treasure!” Azurill couldn’t hold it in any longer. The moisture in his eyes burst like waterworks as he cried.

“I want my _big brother!_ ” Desperate to get away, he forced his feet up off the ground, attempting to sideswipe Drowzee. He didn’t care that he had to go back down without any help— he just wanted to get away! He wanted to see Marill and his mommy again! But with a frustrated growl, Drowzee pivoted on his heels and sprinted ahead. He skidded into a u-turn and halted Azurill in his tracks.

“H-hey! Stop that!” he demanded, causing Azurill to shrink back with a squeal. Drowzee hadn’t expected the kid to put up this much of a fight! He flexed his trunk, irate. “Sheesh! I said I’ll take you home when you’re done!” The beginnings of a growl formed in his throat as he advanced even closer to Azurill. There would be no more Mr. Nice Guy now. “If you keep being difficult, it will mean big trouble for you!”

Azurill couldn’t stop shaking, pulling back as far as he could from the intimidating Pokémon. Was Mr. Drowzee going to hurt him?! With more moisture gathering in his eyes, Azurill did the only thing he could think of. He tensed up, and he released a dreadful scream.

* * *

 **“** H-h-h... **_HELP!”_**

That chilling and all-too-familiar cry for help coincided perfectly with our exit of the dungeon. Azurill’s frightened wail shredded my heart in a way unlike any other.

“Oh Arceus, we’re too late!” I blurted out nervously to Chika. “C’mon!” Without waiting for her, I burst into the open plateau, quickly advancing towards Drowzee and Azurill. The latter’s black eyes appeared stunned, shooting me a pleading gaze.

“Stop right there!” Chika stole the words out of my mouth, catching up to me with a huff. She sounded as angry as I felt. “We won’t let you do that! Drowzee, you bully!” Drowzee froze in place, whipping his head around towards us in shock.

“H-how did you find this place?!” he stammered in disbelief.

“You can thank Marill for that,” I nearly hissed, my fury getting the best of me. I certainly wasn’t about to tell him the truth. “You’re just a good Samaritan trying to help these kids find their stuff, huh? You can drop the act; we saw your wanted poster!” His eyes flashed in apprehension at my statement.

“We’re Team Amber Leaf! An exploration team!” Chika proclaimed proudly. “No criminal can escape us!” Drowzee looked really nervous now, shaking his head back and forth in wary surveillance.

“An exploration team?! You came to apprehend… Huh?”

 _Wait, why did he stop?_ I felt confused by the momentary silence until I registered a series of labored breaths beside me. I turned my head, only to see Chika quivering in place. Even her leaf was fluttering about.

“Chika? Are you… trembling?” I asked her dumbfounded. I knew she was timid, but we couldn’t lose our cool, not now! But it was too late: Drowzee seemed to perk up at the sight, snapping his fingers.

“A-ha! I think I’ve figured it out! You say you’re on an exploration team, but you’re total _rookies_ , aren’t you?” Chika gave a nervous gulp, closing her eyes as she continued to wobble. I watched a bead of nervous sweat trail down her forehead. Agonized by her display, I braced myself and thrust my chin up high.

“So, what if we are?!” I bit back, determined not to show my own growing apprehension. “We’re not afraid of you!”

“Your friend over here suggests otherwise,” Drowzee countered smugly, a side grin following his chuckle. “That’s right. I’m a wanted Pokémon with a bounty on my head. But can you two do the job? Can you confront this outlaw and bring him to justice?” Azurill whimpered frightfully as Drowzee challenged us. Oh, Drowzee would pay for rattling a little kid like this!

“Y-yes,” Chika squeaked before forcing her voice to rise higher. “We can! Yes, we can! We’d never lose to a bad guy like you!” Her eyes became slanted downwards in provocation; I’m relieved to see she finally regained her bearings.

 _Yes, Chika! Tell it like it is!_ I began to wiggle on my haunches. Of course, I’d rather not fight to keep Azurill out of harm’s way, but I was starting to see no other alternative.

Drowzee, of all things, began to laugh. “I’ve been chased by all sorts of exploration teams in my day… But never a sorrier-looking bunch than you two!”

I drowned out yet another one of Chika’s nervous utterances with my own infuriated retort. “Oh, yeah? Soon _you’ll_ be the one looking sorry! Terrorizing little kids like this is unforgivable!” Unfortunately, Drowzee must fail to take us seriously anymore, because he gave my declaration a smirk.

“This should be a laugh. Let’s see if you can take me down.” He whipped his trunk back. “Show me what you’ve got!”

“With pleasure!” I yowled, pouncing ahead to meet him face on. I could already feel my mouth warming up to prepare a spewing fireball.

“Azurill, get out of the way!” Chika cried out, summoning her razor-edged storm of leaves. Azurill was quick to obey, scurrying away to let Team Amber Leaf take the charge. My Ember attack flew at him without mercy, combining with Chika’s leaves in a crackling fury. You’d think the deep, laceration cuts combined with the flames would have slowed Drowzee down, but he barely flinched. Instead, he released a pink and red-hued shockwave from his snout. It hit me head-on, launching me backward and scraping my skin against the hard stone.

 _Wow, that hit hard!_ My mind felt somewhat muddled and disorientated, my paws struggling to regain their purchase on the ground. I felt a little cross eyed, the colors of the environment blurring around me. _Oh no…_

“Summer, I think you’re confused!” Chika cried out. “Just follow my voice!” I saw her green mass launch into Drowzee for a fierce Tackle. I struggled to obey, trying to focus on their writhing forms.

 _What… do I do?_ I growled, flexing my claws in frustration. My thoughts were far from cohesive, but I knew I had to follow my instincts here, however dim they were. My insides warmed as I released another Ember, trying to aim at the yellow and brown blur. But the fireball meagerly bounced past him, missing the target entirely. Well, at least I didn’t hit Chika. Meanwhile, my teammate released a battle cry, slapping her leaf into Drowzee’s face. This surprised him enough to let her swipe herself from his chokehold. She whipped another frenzy of leaves at him, gritting her teeth together.

“Use your Faint Attack, Summer!” she urged me. “That will never miss its target, even if you’re confused!”

“I’ve heard enough from you!” Drowzee spat. “I think it’s about time you’ve had your nap!” He released another Psywave, although this one was more concentrated, like a beam. With a startled cry, her eyes fluttered shut and she collapsed onto the ground, her legs splayed out from under her.

 _N-nap? Is she… asleep?_ Her failure to rise only worsened my suspicions, though I could barely tell whether she was actually awake or not. I stumbled through my headache, urging myself to work through this dizzy spell.

“Good girl,” Drowzee chortled. “With any luck, you won’t see me again before you awake!” With that, he began pounding her body over and over again, marking her with dents and bruises. I bristled in fury. Was he seriously attacking her while she was down? Using every bit of strength I possessed, I launched myself in the general direction of Drowzee. My body began to shimmer with the essence of darkness, homing in onto the Psychic Pokémon. He was thrown back with a grunt of surprise.

 _Psychic! That’s right! My attack is super effective against him!_ Using this knowledge, I pelted him without mercy, the nightly essence slowly working its way into his brain. With each successive strike, my mind became more and more clear. The confusion must have finally been wearing off! It didn’t take long before Drowzee released a groan and writhed on the ground. I would have felt bad, even, but I just needed to remember what he did to Azurill and Chika to keep myself going. I was like a Mama Ursaring defending her child from danger.

Finally, Drowzee lost his will to resist. With a final shudder, he lay still, unable to move. Only then did I relent, my adrenaline beginning to die down. My muscles were twitching as I stumbled my way towards Chika. She was still passed out cold.

“Chika,” I rasped, using my paw to gently poke her where she wasn’t battered. “Are you OK?” It took a moment, but she moaned and opened an eye, looking disorientated.

“W-what happened?” She slowly got onto her feet, releasing a sound of pain. “And why do I hurt so much?”

“Drowzee decided to give you a beating while you were under,” I said gravely, “but I took care of that for you. Can you walk?”

“I think so…” She took a moment to examine herself before looking at Drowzee. “He’s really finished?”

“As far as I can tell. If you aren’t feeling too weak, we gotta fetch Azurill.”

“Oh! Right!” she remembered dazedly. She braced herself against me as I guided her towards the little guy, who was still trembling in fear.

“Azurill… we’re here to rescue you,” I murmured before encouraging Chika to try and stand on her own. “Are you OK? You’re not hurt, are you?”

“I’m OK,” he answered, hopping back onto his tail.

“Great! What a relief…” I rubbed my legs, which were beginning to ache from exertion. I must have worked myself really hard back there. Chika was using her leaf to tenderly rub her wounds, wincing at the contact.

“Are _you_ two gonna be OK?” Azurill asked us, tilting his head. “You really went for it back there.”

“I think so, little guy,” I replied with a faint smile. “Just some mild battle wounds. Don’t worry about us.”

“Your big brother is waiting,” Chika finally spoke up. “Let’s get you home.” Before we could take off, though, some metallic-looking Pokémon rushed onto the peak. Their magnets spun rapidly as they approached us. Their frantic appearance brought me a new wave of alarm.

 _Drowzee’s backup?_ I thought in despair. I wasn’t sure Chika and I were up to another fight right now. Thankfully, Chika was quick to alleviate my fears.

“Officer Magnezone?” Chika croaked. “Is that you?” The biggest of the three Pokémon gave a buzz of affirmation.

“ _ZZZT!_ Yes, it is me. Do not be alarmed. Marill informed me of the situation. Thanks to you, we are able to arrest a wanted outlaw! _ZZZT!_ ” The smaller magnet Pokémon surrounded Drowzee and restrained him with a magnetic field.

“Oh, good,” I sighed. “I wasn’t exactly ready to rumble again.”

* * *

Back at the entrance of Mt. Bristle, we met Marill, who anxiously approached us. Chika and I were protectively supporting Azurill from both sides, even as my body ached in protest. I didn’t want anything happening to the little guy again. And, granted, I haven’t gone on many adventures yet, but never was I so thankful that the dungeon immediately led us to the entrance. Descending nine floors of aggressive Pokemon in our battered state would have spelled our doom.

“Azurill!” Marill cried out.

“ _ZZZT!_ One second, if you please.” Magnezone turned to us with gratitude. “We owe you great thanks for your cooperation.” The magnets of the sheriffs began to glow and spark, releasing a pleasant flashing display. “ _ZZZT!_ We will send the reward to your guild. Thank you again!” Magnezone then turned to Drowzee. “Now, come with us! _ZZZT!_ ”

“Awww…” Drowzee whined, his face downcast. The Magneton pulled him along as Magnezone lead them away. Finally free of their presence, I motioned for Azurill to join Marill.

“Marill!” the little brother cried, running up to him as Marill opened his arms. He ran into the hug, sobbing heavily. “ _Waaaah!_ It was so scary!”

“You OK, Azurill?” Marill fretted, patting him. “Are you hurt?”

“Except for the fright, he’s fine,” I murmured, approaching the two.

“Yeah, the little guy’s not hurt in any way,” Chika added.

“Really? That’s a relief!” Marill began to tear up, hugging his brother closer. “Oh, Azurill… Azurill…”

“I’m truly happy for you two!” Chika exclaimed. Relief flooded my heart as I nodded in agreement. Things could have gone so much worse…

Finally, Marill let Azurill go and faced us. “You did this all for us, Chika and Summer. We won’t forget this. Thank you so much.” Marill gave his brother a nudge. “Come on, Azurill. You too.”

Azurill gave a bashful nod. “Yup…” His eyes were watering again. “Thank you very much! Thank you for rescuing me!”

“Really… Really, thank you.” Marill finished. I felt a little overwhelmed by their gratitude, my heart warming.

“You’re very welcome. It’s the least we could have done,” I assured them. “Now, let’s head back to Treasure Town.”

* * *

“Oh wow, an enlarged treasure bag? Thanks, Chatot!” I said, emptying our old one. Chika handed the smaller bag back to Chatot while I began moving our items over. Chatot reached into his own storage, rooting around for something.

“I’ve gotten the bounty from Officer Magnezone for the captured outlaw! Well done, you two.” Chatot grasped his claws around a small pile. “Here’s your share for the job. It’s yours to keep!” My heart sank a little when he pushed the pile of Poké towards us. It was maybe a little larger than yesterday’s, but not by much. Evidently, he had already separated the guild’s share from the total. I took a moment to count it up, having Chika help me with the task.

“300 Poké. Wonderful.” I tried to keep my voice from becoming dry. _Meaning the original award was 3,000._ Sure, it was still disappointing, but I guess it’s just something we had to get used to. Besides, rescuing Azurill was the real— and more important —prize.

“No way! This is all we get?” Chika’s spirits fell. “After all of our effort…”

“...But of course! It’s all part of the training!” Chatot replied, not even bothering to hide his enthusiasm. “And we expect just as much effort tomorrow! Hee-heee!” His ending chuckle and departure made Chika release a sound of complaint.

“It would be nice if they’d give us a slightly bigger share of the reward,” she confessed to me.

“Hey, it’ll be all right. We managed to rescue Azurill!” I told her. “That’s worth far more than the money.” She offered me a thin smile.

“That’s true. And it’s all thanks to you, Summer!”

“Huh? We both helped take down Drowzee,” I said, slightly confused. I certainly didn’t deserve all of the praise here.

“Well, yeah. What I mean is… because you had that dream, Summer… we learned about Azurill’s trouble in advance.” She tilted her head, looking disappointed. “I’m sorry for doubting you earlier,” she murmured in an apology.

“I-it’s fine, Chika,” I stuttered with a dip of my head. “I know I sounded crazy earlier. I would have questioned myself, too.” _Although, she’s right. I can’t explain it, but... I was able to sense the shout from Azurill before it happened. And I was able to see Drowzee in the mountains, too! Even though both events took place in the future! Why… why was I able to see something like that?_ The very idea simply blew my mind.

“What are you thinking about, Summer?” Chika asked me, noticing the distant look in my eyes. I simply shook my head.

“I’m just wondering what those dizzy spells were all about,” I sighed. Suddenly, I heard a faint grumble of protest from Chika’s direction. But her mouth had never opened.

“Uh-oh! My stomach just growled!” Her face flushed in embarrassment, bringing her foreleg against the area. Then I felt _my_ stomach clench up, and it released a hollow responding growl.

“It seems my stomach agrees,” I huffed in amused laughter. “It’s answering your hunger call.” I watched Chika’s eyes light up in delight, a grin growing on her face.

“I guess we must be famished!” she concluded, doubling over with a case of the giggles. I couldn’t help but join her, her youthful spirit raising my own sense of jocularity.

“We were so focused on rescuing Azurill that we must not have noticed at all!” I spoke up when I could finally gulp in a breath. But as our chuckles finally began to settle, both of our stomachs bellowed in harmony within the silence. We relapsed into our laughing fit at this timing.

“But now we’re even hungrier, Summer!” Chika gasped, actual tears gathering in her eyes. This was clearly too much for her. “Come on, let’s go eat dinner!”

“For sure! I hope Chimecho is ready by now,” I wheezed. The both of us continued to shake in amusement as we strolled side by side together.

* * *

A flash of lightning sparked across my vision, temporarily engulfing the treasure bag that sat under the window. A thunderstorm had swept in during our meal, and the rain hadn’t let up since. Chika and I agreed it would be hard to fall asleep right now, so we decided to chat and try to wait it out a little.

“Wow, that’s intense!” Chika squealed, impressed. “It’s just as bad as the other night!”

“Really?” My eyes were fixated upon the sheets of rain pelting down. The sight was oddly hypnotic, almost as though I’d seen it before… had I?

“Yeah. You know the night before we met, Summer? It was storming that night, too.” Apprehension swirled in her eyes, but she made a conscious effort to push it down. “It was really frightening… It was right on top of my shelter, and it scared the living daylights out of me.”

“Awww…” I whispered, flashing her a sympathetic smile. “I imagine so.”

She fidgeted nervously. “I wanted nothing more than a friend to comfort me… and then you came along, Summer.” Her voice was really quiet now; I could barely hear it over the howling wind.

 _No way. She already thinks that much of me?_ “Guess I have a good sense of timing,” I replied with a mix of warmth and puzzlement.

“Well, I didn’t find you knocked out on the beach until later. The evening after that stormy night.” She paused to let another crash of thunder rumble through before she continued. “So, do you remember anything about that yet? Anything at all?” I took a moment to bite my lips, seriously thinking it over.

“No, I don’t,” I answered finally after my memories proceeded to fail me once again. “I wish I did, though.”

She nodded. “I understand. I guess it won’t be that easy. But that’s alright. Just try remembering a little at a time.” A particularly loud roar clapped upon our ears, making her flinch visibly.

“At this rate, the storm won’t let up until after midnight,” I observed when the noise finally died down. Maybe we should try to sleep anyway, then. But Chika had other ideas in mind.

“Um, Summer… can we talk about something?” She looked uneasy, her leaf waving back and forth in the air.

“Sure. What is it?”

“Well, I’ve been thinking about it since it happened. That strange dream you had, I mean. Maybe it has to do with you personally, Summer.” She gave me a measured stare, trying to gauge my reaction. “I can’t quite say why.”

“It has to do with me personally?” I repeated, bringing a paw up to my chin in thought. “Well, I probably could have guessed that much. What I went through was highly unusual.” Once again, I wondered if the dream was a side effect of my transformation.

“Right. And I certainly don’t know any other Vulpix who dreams about the future. I’ve never heard of a human suddenly turning into a Pokémon, either. I thought… I thought humans were just myths.”

_Myths? ...Hmm, that’s right. We haven’t seen any other humans around here, huh? Just Pokémon. Does that mean I’m more special than I originally thought? And the key to unlocking my memory… was it really in that dream? But even if that were true… how would it relate to anything else?_

“Somehow, I think those two events are connected,” she continued with a look of contemplation. “That’s the feeling I keep getting, anyway. Either way… I don’t know what you were like as a human, Summer. But I think you must have been a good person. You were so kind to the little brothers and so willing to help me out when my Relic Fragment got stolen

 _Chika…_ I thought, my heart flipping over in my chest. That was too kind of her to say. “I still don’t understand it, but… thank you,” I mumbled, my tails twitching. Slowly but surely, I was learning how to control those.

“You’re welcome. After all, it was your dream that helped us catch a bad Pokémon.” She gazed out the window at the unceasing, violent rain. Chika had something else on her mind, it seemed.

 _Bad Pokémon, huh?_ I frowned a little _._ That reminded me of what Chatot had said: that the growing number of bad Pokémon lately was being caused by time going out of whack.

“You know… time is getting messed up, bit by bit, all over the world,” Chika said, almost as if she read my thoughts. “No one seems to know why, but everyone believes that the Time Gears are somehow involved.”

“Huh? Time Gears?” I echoed. “What are those?” And yet, just like the phrase “mystery dungeon,” it seemed strangely familiar to me. But why?

Chika pursed her lips. “They say Time Gears are hidden in secret places around the world… though I’ve never seen one myself. Places like deep within a lost forest, or at a lake in an underground cavern. I’ve even heard that there may be a hidden altar inside of a volcano.” I let out a questioning huff. Why would there be objects in such obscure and dangerous locations?

“Anyways, at the center of such places is what’s known as a Time Gear. They serve very important functions. Each Time Gear protects time and keeps it flowing properly in its region.”

 _There are tangible_ objects _that regulate the forces of time?_ I wondered, amazed. _Woah. That’s pretty cool._ “So then, when a region loses its Time Gear…” I began, unwilling to finish that thought.

“…Right. My guess is that if a Time Gear is removed from its region, then the flow of time there will probably stop, too. But I don’t really know, to be honest. Absolutely _no one_ disturbs the Time Gears.” She shuddered at the very notion. “Everyone has long been certain that some kind of disaster would strike, so everyone stays away from them. Even the most hardened criminal Pokémon know to avoid messing with them.”

“You say no one tampers with them, but…” I paused to gulp, my uvula bouncing nervously. “Is anyone certain that isn’t _exactly_ what’s happening? Is someone finally bold and brash enough to go after the Time Gears, for whatever reason? Is that why time has been getting messed up?” Chika’s eyes widened at my suggestion. She couldn’t even answer me at first, the torrent outside drowning our silence. Her hesitation honestly scared me a little. Of course, I wasn’t expecting her to know the answer. But… the implications of my questions were horrifyingly realistic.

“I don’t know, Summer,” she choked out finally, becoming as pale as a wispy ghost.

* * *

If only things had been that simple.

Yes, it’s me again. You know, the narrator? You probably forgot I was still here. But I’m breaking the story to say something important. And I only know what I’m about to tell you because I learned about it way after the fact.

At the exact moment Chika and I had been discussing the Time Gears… A slim, bipedal Pokémon raced along an arboreal path somewhere far, far away. This Pokémon was utterly drenched from the storm. But he hardly cared about that. If anything, the feeling of rain on his skin only pushed him onwards. He refused to stop, his feet pumping him off the puddles below. He was so close now; he could just feel it! Despite the sheets of precipitation, he sensed the muddled lights ahead. He worked quickly to close that gap, as though his life depended on it.

…Well, because it kind of _did._

He didn’t stop until it was right in front of his face. He took a moment to breathe, staring up at this mythical object. It was grander than anything he could have imagined. The turquoise gear emitted an earthly luminescence. Its teeth fit almost perfectly within the surrounding outline. Even beyond that were more beams of illuminated color, their shapes similar to that of a stretched-out pentagon. Even so, he had to shake a saddening thought out of his head bitterly. There wasn’t the time to mourn over what was lost. He had a job to do. The Pokémon hopped closer, craning his neck upwards.

“Do my eyes deceive me? Could it be…?” He couldn’t deny the sight, though. “Yes! It is! I’ve finally found it! A Time Gear!” He reached his arm up, gently grasping the sacred gear within his claws.

“But… this is only the first of many…”

A whirring noise ensued, rapidly dying down in pitch and speed. The turquoise lights in the air faded out of existence. He gave one last glance at the beautiful green forest, sending a silent apology to the Pokémon who lived here. Then he scurried away as quickly as he had come. An equal sense of accomplishment and shame washed over his heart during his retreat.


	6. Chapter 4: The Gate Keepers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably going to be my shortest chapter. In-game, this chapter only covers 2-3 days of dungeon gameplay and the sentry duty minigame. That's not much material to work with. So, unfortunately, a lot of the stuff in this chapter is filler. I more or less break the cardinal rule of "show, don't tell," but I didn't see myself having much other option.
> 
> I do want to note: Chika's backstory at the end is 100% fabricated. Going in, I knew I wanted a backstory, but I had no idea what I wanted it to be. Then, when I sat down to write, it just kind of flowed out of me. It was... darker than I expected, but I couldn't bring myself to toss it when I saw just how brilliantly it tied the threads of her character and the main story together. I do expect to revisit this from time to time, especially since it's so foundational to her character. But I don't see it really coming into play until the post-game. I guess only time will tell. (Ha ha.)

The next few days were, for the most part, unremarkable. This grand story of mine is already long enough, so I don’t want to bog it down with trivial minutia and nondescript quests. I know, I know— show, don’t tell. But I’m honestly not even sure I remember enough to describe what happened during those days. Chatot basically told us to tackle one or both boards as we saw fit. I have distant memories of returning to Beach Cave, Drenched Bluff, and Mt. Bristle to rescue various Pokémon, find or deliver items, and to catch the newest batch of baddies.

That bit I overheard on our first night about “ranked jobs” finally began to make sense: depending on the difficulty of the job (and the amount of the cash reward), the guild rated jobs using letter ranks. An “E” rank is the lowest, worth only 10 “explorer rank points.” Once your team completes enough requests and reaches a certain threshold of points, your rank and explorer badge get upgraded. We started out at the “Normal” rank and, within a few days, we managed to snag enough points (100) to reach the “Bronze” rank. (For those curious, this turned the circle in the center of our ID badge from pink to green). You can take up to 8 job requests total at a time. You can also do multiple jobs for one place in a day and save the rest for another time.

Chika and I saw requests ranked as high as “A” or “S,” but we immediately shot those down. We were beginners, and in no way fit to take on such difficult tasks. We stuck to “E” and “D” rank jobs; we even took on a C-rank outlaw one time. Our cut of the rewards was pitiful, being rarely higher than 150 Poké. But sometimes we’d get nice items, like a Heal Seed, a Special Band, or even Gummis: the delicious jellybean like treats that raise your stats. But of course, at the end of the day, it was about helping our fellow Pokémon in need. And the opportunity to train up and bond with Chika was immeasurably valuable to me.

We also met various exploration teams, both on the guild’s upperground floor and in Treasure Town as we prepared for jobs. There’s the aptly named “Team Tasty,” made up of Swellow and (a very skittish looking) Wurmple. “Team Poochy” is a band of Poochyena triplets who specialize in chasing down “C” rank outlaws. And Shuppet and Murkrow call themselves “Team Ebony”— quite a fitting name given their penchant for treasure. If time allowed, Chika and I would chat with some of the villagers in town, too, like Vigorith, Teddiursa, and Ursaring.

There are a few details that stick out to me now that I think about it. Chika and I decided to check out that mysterious brown tent next to Chansey’s daycare the day after we rescued Azurill. The flap was closed, but there was a notice on it that said something like:

 _“Marowak Dojo has collapsed, but it will rise from the rubble again! Yes! The Dojo will be resurrected to its former glory! When this is accomplished, we will be open again for explorer team training.”_ -Marowak, Dojo Sensei

“Huh,” Chika had chirped with a tilt of her head. “Exploration team training? If Marowak reopens soon, we should check this out.”

Incidentally, on the same day, we noticed a Spinda eyeing a large boulder at the crossroads with great interest. We didn’t know it then, but that was the birth of a facility that became like our second home base. At the time, Chika and I gave him a curious look, but it didn’t seem like business worth minding. We began to think twice when, a few days later, we passed a Wynaut and a Wobbuffet at the exact same spot. But, again, we didn’t want to be rude and intrude where we didn’t belong. Though, we _did_ hear this exchange between the Wynaut and Wobbuffet as we began to head into town:

“Right here, right? This is where the new café’s gonna go?”

“That’s riiiight!”

I nudged Chika’s shoulder. “Hey, did you hear that? I think some Pokémon are trying to set up a shop there!”

“It does sound that way, doesn’t it?” Chika mused. “But I don’t see how they would have enough room. The staircase to the beach is right there… And then you have the crossroads. Why wouldn’t they just set up somewhere in Treasure Town?” She brought up some good questions. All I could do was shrug and comment that we would have to wait and see.

Ah, but I’m rambling now. There are two matters of relative importance that I want to cover here: not necessarily important to our story, per se, but they build valuable background for the origin story of Team Amber Leaf. So, without further ado…

* * *

"Ugh... I'm still tired," I mumbled to Chika after our morning cheers, a few days after rescuing Azurill. I lazily rubbed my eyes with my front paw. "I mean, I’m getting sleep, but Loudred yanked me out of a deep one this morning…”

Chika nudged me sympathetically with her shoulder. "I hear you, Summer, but we gotta find a way to wake you up. We can't—"

"Hey, **YOU TWO**!" Chika nearly jumped out of her skin while I flinched like I just got hit with a ton of bricks.

"Well, that'll do it," I muttered with gritted teeth. Loudred must have decided we were too slow because he lumbered his way over to us.

"We need your help with something today!" he barked at us. Without another word, he retreated, without even bothering to check if we were following. He led us to that mysterious vine sticking out of the ground by the entrance to the dining hall.

"Diglett, I brought them!" Loudred pronounced upon our arrival. I could sense the relief that flashed through the Mole Pokémon's eyes.

"Thank you, Loudred. Hey, Chika and Summer."

"Hi, Diglett," I greeted him, feeling my spirits lift somewhat. Diglett was so cute; I couldn’t help but light him around him. "What's up?"

Loudred approached Diglett's side and turned around to face us. "You two are doing sentry duty today!"

"Sorry," Diglett apologized to us almost immediately. "I'm usually the one to do sentry duty. But today, Dad gave me his duty of updating the boards, along with a couple of other things. That's why I can't man my post. It’d be great if you two could take over for me today. Especially since you're rookies— you're going to need to learn how to do it eventually. And that's why you're here. Please do a good job for me! Bye!" He disappeared under the ground, while Loudred held a grin that looked too large for his face.

"And that's **THAT** ," Loudred concluded cheekily. But he didn’t elaborate any farther on what _exactly_ we were supposed to do.

"Huh? I didn't follow that at all!" Chika squeaked. "How did we get involved in this again?"

"Presumably because we're new?" I tried to say, but Loudred bowled over me with a stomp of frustration.

"Shut your **YAP!** " His reprimand was so stern and intense that we both just about fell over. "NO MORE BELLYACHING. **GO DO YOUR DUTY!** "

"W-we weren't complaining!" I protested feebly after giving myself a minute to let my ears stop ringing. "We just have some questions, that's all..."

"Ow... My head hurts..." Chika grumbled beside me. I couldn't blame her; just having Loudred wake us up was bad enough. Let alone his repeated shouting right _next_ _to my ears._

"Like **WHAT?** "

"Well, what are we expected to do, anyway?" I suggested for starters. “What _exactly_ is involved in sentry duty?” Chika shook her head quickly like she was shaking out water, her leaf wobbling with her.

Loudred gave a huff of exasperation. "Climb down this hole and stand guard. You're on sentry duty!"

"Right. Got that part," I replied, my tone flatter than I intended. _I want to know what's_ involved _in sentry duty._

"We can't have suspicious characters coming into the guild," he continued. "So, we station a sentry below the guild entrance to evaluate Pokémon visitors. When you first came, you had your footprint evaluated, right?"

"My footprint?" Chika echoed vaguely. "What do you... Oh, now I remember!" Too bad she couldn't snap her non-existent fingers. "That weird hole behind the grate taunted me for days! Whenever I stood on it, someone shouted up at me! It was startling!"

 _"Um, earlier I tried to sign on as an apprentice… but I was too cowardly."_ Somewhere from the deep recesses of my mind, Chika's words from the night we met came back to me. And I also remembered how petrified she acted towards the grate when we entered the guild for the first time.

 _"Taunted me for days"? She... she tried joining the guild more than once, but couldn't? Because Diglett was shouting at her?_ Sympathy washed over my heart. It was understandable that such yelling would have startled her... but by that much? I guess my being there really _did_ help her.

"OK, so we should climb down this hole." Her voice interrupted me from my reverie. "And then what?"

"The tunnel down there leads to the sentry post. Diglett typically burrows through it and pops up underneath the sentry post. From there, he inspects the footprints of visitors, identifies them, and informs me. Then I have to decide if the Pokémon is suspicious or not and open the gate if they pass muster. So, we serve as the guild's gatekeepers. That's the gist of it."

"Ah, I get it now," I said. Loudred gave me a skeptical look, almost as if he didn’t believe me.

"Look, all you two have to do is inspect the footprints of visitors, then tell me what Pokémon they are. It's really simple. Understood?"

Chika nodded. "Understood." I echoed the sentiment.

"Good! Then let's get to **WORK!** " Now that he wasn't in teacher mode, Loudred was shouting again. "Buck up and do a **GOOD JOB!** "

 _Definitely awake now,_ I thought as I approached the vine, grasping it with my paws and sliding down. The encroaching darkness swallowed us rather quickly, and Chika let out a squeak of surprise.

"It's pitch black in here, Summer..."

"We'll have to feel our way. Stay calm," I told her, cautiously patting the ground before me. While my eyes adjusted shortly afterward, the gradual slopes and turns almost made me trip once or twice. Chika kept bumping into me whenever I suddenly stopped, at one point almost pushing me into the dirt. But we advanced at a steady clip.

"Well, we should be getting close to the sentry post, right?" she commented after a while. Just as she said that I noticed something in the distance that gave me some hope.

"Oh! There it is! I see light, Chika! C'mon." Once we reached the beam of light, I noticed the path stopped at a dead end. I looked up, seeing the waffle outline of the grid between the rays of sunlight. Its smooth edges were outlined by the sprouts of various vines.

"How’s it going?!" Loudred's shout filtered from a distance, becoming much more tolerable for my sore ears. "Have you taken position at the sentry post?"

"YEAH, we're here!" I yelled back as Chika winced. “Sorry,” I apologized to her in a much softer voice.

" **GOOD!** Pokémon visitors will step onto the grill above the sentry post! Identify them by footprint, then inform me! Got that?"

"Yup! We got it!" Chika confirmed. Her voice was lower than mine had been but still louder than usual for her.

" **GOOD!** Then let's get started!"

I won’t subject you to the details of sentry duty. As you can imagine, it quickly became repetitive and bland. As time dragged on, I found myself wishing I could be out in a dungeon doing our usual work. Talking with Chika during the lulls of traffic definitely made the experience more bearable. We chatted about all sorts of things: what we thought of our fellow guildmembers so far, faraway places we hoped to discover one day, and famous explorer teams Chika wanted to meet. Slowly but surely, the sunlight shifted and began to dim. Only then did Loudred and Chatot call us back up for a recap.

We got lucky: our results were completely perfect. While I could make a reasonable stab at some of the footprints, I had a hard time narrowing down some others. That’s when Chika took over with her wealth of knowledge. Our rewards from Chatot were insanely generous: 500 Poké, a Joy Seed, a Life Seed, and some Ginseng! I was nearly dancing around Chika as she told me just as valuable these items were. I decided to take the Life Seed to boost my health, and Chika took the Joy seed to get one step closer to evolution. The Ginseng, which is a one-time power-up for moves in a dungeon, was stored at Kangaskhan’s for another time.

* * *

The day after that was a day I remember distinctly for a couple of reasons. Chika and I had a few memorable encounters: for one, got to speak to Azurill and Marill again! The brothers greeted us cheerily, presumably recovered from the incident with Drowzee. Still, they were so sweet, thanking us humbly once more. It was all I could do not to give them a hug… though I wondered how well that would have worked without arms.

Then we crossed the bridge to check the Kecleon Market… only to have a bit of a run-in with a gruff-looking trio. Thankfully, it didn’t amount to much, but I still left the encounter feeling a little spooked. It all started when a Weavile saw us coming and gave us a holler:

“Hey, you two! Are you from around here?”

Chika and I exchanged a side glance when we saw how intimidating these Pokémon were. But being an exploration team, it was our job to help any Pokémon in need, and not to judge a book by its cover. So, we approached them in a careful but friendly manner.

“Us? Yes, we work with Wigglytuff’s Guild,” Chika replied. “And may I ask who you might be?” The second Pokémon— a large purple scorpion— seemed to scoff at the very notion.

“For your information, _we’re_ Team AWD,” he proclaimed with a hint of loathing at our ignorance before gesturing to his partners. “Arbok, Weavile, and Drapion, got it? We’re a band of thieves led by our lady Weavile.”

“T-thieves?” Chika stuttered nervously. I frowned in apprehension; how could an exploration team call themselves ‘thieves’?

“That’s right,” Drapion answered with a small cackle. “Our travels in search of the ultimate treasure brought us here… But this place doesn’t seem to be much of a prospect.”

“It’s true,” Arbok jutted in with a hiss, dragging out the _s_ sound. “We traveled all the way out here, but it turns out that this spot is pretty dingy, isn’t it?”

I blinked slowly. “I guess that depends on your definition of ‘dingy,’” I said coolly. “But what does that have to do with us?” Weavile was quick to fix me a glare.

“Child. You should learn to temper your _patience_.” Her voice held an undertone of a warning, causing me to gulp discreetly. “If you two are indeed from around here, then let me ask you a question. Somewhere in this area, there should be a place called Zero Isle. Do you know of it?” I shook my head, looking to Chika for help. But her expression told me she was uncertain as well.

“Zero Isle?” she repeated. “N-no, I’m afraid not. Sorry…”

“We’re still, um, new around here,” I added. Weavile didn’t look happy with the news though, releasing a sigh through her teeth.

“Hmmm… So that’s the case? Fine. Be that way. Now get out of our sight and go back to whatever you were doing. Do not speak to us again unless I ask for you specifically, understood?” Her tone was cold, well befitting of her typing. Chika and I shared a wide-eyed glance, but we knew better than to argue. With a brief nod of recognition, Chika and I hightailed it out of there and approached the market.

“Team AWD: Don’t you forget it!” Drapion hissed behind our retreating backs. “And think _really_ carefully before you share our righteous name with your guild buddies!” Poor Chika was nearly shaking by the time we stopped at the market counter. The green Kecleon frowned and shot the retreating team a questioning look.

“Are you alright? What was that all about?” he asked us. All I could do was shake my head.

“Yeah, it’s… it’s nothing,” I muttered lamely. “I’m just going to forget that ever happened and go about our day.”

* * *

But the most important part of that day, and what I really want to get into: Chika’s story. That night in our beds, Chika asked me yet again if any of my memories had returned. After a frustrating minute of brain wracking that yielded zero results, I shook my head.

“No, nothing yet,” I sighed agitatedly. “Sorry.”

“Hey, that’s alright, Summer. There’s no rush.” She stared down, as though the strands of straw in her bed held the answers. “I mean… if I was in your position… I’m not sure I’d want my memories to come back so easily.” Her voice was so quiet, so hesitant. My eyes crinkled in question.

“Huh? How come?” I spoke. “What were you doing before you joined the Guild?” The question appears to make her uncomfortable as she started to squirm around slightly. I began to apologize before she cut me off.

“N-no, it’s fine. I should really get this off my chest. You’re my friend, Summer, and you deserve to know this.” She cleared her throat anxiously. “I used to live with my Mama and Papa, ever since I had hatched from an egg. It was somewhere far away from here. Mama was the sweetest, gentlest Pokémon I ever knew, and my Papa was really bright and brave. He was always away on rescue and explorer team missions because that’s what he loved to do. His heart really was with the windswept plains, the rocky crags, and the ancient ruins lost to time. He never could stay homebound for long. But whenever he returned, he would bring back all these fantastic treasures he found and tell us these crazy and exciting stories. The way he glowed about his adventures… The way he promised me we would explore a new and exciting place together as father and daughter once I got a little bigger… That’s what first really got me into wanting to be an explorer.

“One time, he was supposed to come home by sundown… But he didn’t show. This wasn’t too unusual for him; sometimes, the missions took longer than expected. So, we gave it another day. And then two. And then three…” She gulped down a knot in her throat and closed her eyes briefly before continuing. “After over a week, Mama became really concerned. I-I had never seen her so distressed before. She insisted on going out to find him, or at the very least to touch base with the Guild. I didn’t have anyone to stay with, so I… I had to go with her. I rode on her back as we traveled day after day, replenishing our food as we went… But it was a hard journey. She only had a vague idea of where we were going. We tried to avoid mystery dungeons whenever we could, but sometimes that was impossible. And I was still too weak to help her fight.

“T-then… we got lost trying to make our way through the forest. At this point, we were tired and hurting from all the battles and all the traveling…” I felt a weight fall in my chest as her eyes watered; I had a bad feeling about where this was going. “I-I just happened to be off her back for only a _moment_ to get a drink of water. Then as Mama tried to find a place for us to sleep... S-she didn’t _mean_ to intrude on the Weedle nest. It was hidden under a false cover of leaves and twigs... T-then the commotion alerted the Beedrill c-colony nearby…” Her tears were dribbling down her face now. I made a noise of sympathy, getting up to lay by her side. My tails curled around her shaking frame.

“S-s-she didn’t have a chance, Summer,” she whimpered quietly, hiding her face. “She was already too weak. I-I never saw her again…”

“Chika… I’m so sorry.” My voice was choked up with emotion, and I nuzzled my head into her shoulder in an attempt at comfort. She took a moment to sob into me as my heart broke for her.

“You… you don’t have to tell me, but what happened after that?” I finally ventured cautiously. “Er, I mean… You’re here with us today. Did you escape the Beedrill?” Chika breathed in sharply.

“I almost didn’t,” she responded quietly. “After they were d-done, they saw me… Oh, Summer, I don’t even want to _think_ about what would have happened next. But as they began to approach, some Pokémon jumped in and saved me. Kirlia, Flaaffy, and Sylveon… Sylveon wrapped her ribbon feelers around me while Kirlia teleported us away to safety. I-I was so shaken up, even as Sylveon’s soothing aura ebbed into me. I… I was never the same after that day. That’s why I’m so scared of every little thing. Because if the worst happened to both of my parents so suddenly, then… Why couldn’t it very well happen to me?”

“Oh, Chika…” I could feel her sorrow and anxiety permeating off her little body. I had no idea she held so much on her shoulders…

“That’s not even the end of it,” she spoke up again, almost bitterly. “Those Pokémon who saved me… They called themselves Team Dazzle. I have fond memories of them… They were so gentle and kind to me. As it turned out, they were the exploration team that was with Papa last. They were supposed to come and let us know what happened to him. But they were slowed down by storms and bands of rogue Pokemon that attacked them on sight. They barely made it back to the Guild in one piece before setting out for us. It… It was just pure chance that they happened to find Mama and I. And once they learned who I was… Flaaffy reached into the team’s treasure bag, and he pulled out the Relic Fragment.”

I gasped lightly. “What? No!” She nods weakly.

 _“‘Your father found this just before we lost him. He said he wanted you to have it.’”_ A heavy and shuddering sigh escaped her. “I don’t think I would have slept that night if I hadn’t been so exhausted. But I had terrible nightmares... Team Dazzle was gracious enough to look after me while they healed their own wounds. And then, once they felt confident I could be safe on my own… They dropped me off at the nearest settlement. That happened to be Treasure Town. They set me up with my own place, and then they had to leave… I haven’t seen them again since.

“There is _one_ thing I wish Team Dazzle had done. I know they arrived too late to save Mama, and I’m thankful that they were able to rescue me. But… they refused to tell me if Papa was just missing, or if he had died. They said I was already traumatized enough by what happened to Mama. So, I… I want to believe he’s still alive, Summer. I want to believe he’s still out there somewhere. And that someday, when I could join an exploration team and get really strong, we would sweep the continent for him. Maybe that last treasure he found— my precious Relic Fragment— maybe it has something to do with him. Or maybe it’s entirely unrelated. I don’t know… What I said about it maybe being the key to lost lore the night we met was only partially the truth. But either way… I need to hold onto it with all my might. Since it’s the last gift Papa gave to me.

“I do still want to explore lost lands, find magnificent treasures, and make historical discoveries. That is still a lifelong dream of mine. And after what happened… I feel like it’s my destiny: my way to honor Papa. But I also want to do everything I can to find him. I… I need to know, Summer. I need to know what happened to him.”

She finally fell silent. The air felt heavy with grief, the emotions rolling off her in waves. My mind tried to grapple with everything Chika just told me. Now everything began to make sense. Why she was so upset when Zubat and Koffing stole her treasure, why she was so timid of everything around her…

 _This is so tragic._ “I… I’m so sorry, Chika. You’ve been through so much… I wish I could take away your pain.”

“Yeah? You mean that, Summer?” She looked me deep in the eyes, and for a moment, I’m honestly at a loss for what to say. I take a moment, having my paws cross over her legs.

“Yeah. Of course I mean it. Now I’m even happier for you, that you could finally join the Guild. That you could take your first step on this long and meaningful journey.” Her eyes began to water again, but this time they held a thin veneer of pride and hope. I take a deep breath before the next words tumble out of my mouth with barely a second thought.

“Look, Chika… It might take a while before the Guild lets us work on our own. But when that finally happens, I’ll… I’ll help you. I’ll help you find your father. Even if I eventually remember who I was, or if I figure out how to become human again… I won’t leave you. I’ll stay right by your side.” My heart tightens at the mountainous promise I just made, but even so, I knew it was what I wanted. Even though I hadn’t known Chika for long, she was my closest friend- the _only_ real friend I had right now. I simply couldn’t leave her to face something like this on her own. She may have started this journey alone, but she didn’t have to end it alone.

Chika sniffled, her leaf draping over the curls on my head. “P-promise, Summer…?”

“Always,” I whisper resolutely as she closed her eyes and tucks her head beside me. “I’ll stay right by your side, Chika. No matter what.”


	7. Chapter 5: The First Official Exploration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, it's been a while since the last update, huh? This chapter took more out of me than I thought it would; it's also my longest one so far (just over 10k words!!). I'll try to get Chapter 6 out before classes begin again (end of the month), at which point I'll be *lucky* to get a chapter done in under three weeks. But I've been really struggling lately, so no promises, unfortunately :(

The next day was the first time we skipped our morning cheers entirely. Instead of prompting us as usual, Chatot cleared his throat and shifted his eyes among us with only a hint of apprehension.

“Er, ahem. Everyone, listen up. I don’t want to sour the mood, but I have an important announcement to make.” The atmosphere suddenly grew deadly still. I didn’t even know what he was going to say, but the look on his face told me it wasn’t good.

 _Uh-oh…_ My gaze shot to Wigglytuff for a hint, but his expression was perfectly stoic.

“Far to the northeast, then farther into its outermost regions,” Chatot continued somberly, “there lies a place named Treeshroud Forest. And in this forest… We’ve received the news that time has apparently… _stopped._ ” He dragged out the pause between his last two words; for only a moment, the room was so quiet and stiff that you could hear a pin drop. And then the shockwave instantly rippled among us.

“Huh?!” Diglett was the first to break the silence as I sensed everyone around me flinching or tensing up in disbelief. But my limbs felt as cold as stone. My brain refused to believe the words I just heard, rolling them over and over again in my head incredulously.

“ _Eek!_ What did you just say?!” Sunflora cried out next.

“You’re saying time stopped?!” Corphish exclaimed nervously. “Hey, hey, hey!” After that, everyone erupted into chaos as various voices began to mingle and shout, demanding answers. All I could do was slowly turn around to face Chika, her tremulous gaze mirroring mine. Her face said it all: what we feared the other night ended up coming true.

 _We were right_! I thought in horror, nearly choking on air. _How? Did someone really have the guts to steal a Time Gear?!_ Chika only gave me a shaky nod of recognition, not even bothering to raise her voice among the discordant din.

“ _Quiet!_ Quiet, all of you!” Chatot squawked, fluttering his wings as he tried to regain control. It took a few moments and some more shouting, but everyone gradually grew silent. The tension was nearly suffocating now. Chatot shook his head rapidly like he just came out of water.

“I know this news is shocking, but _please!_ Try to remain composed long enough for me to explain!” He swiveled in place to face Corphish. “Yes, Corphish, you heard me correctly. Time has come to a complete standstill in Treeshroud Forest. The wind has stopped. The clouds remain suspended in the air, motionless. Dewdrops on the leaves will not fall or are frozen mid-descent. Our intel can come to no other conclusion than time itself having truly stopped.”

“T-time itself has stopped?!” Dugtrio repeated, as though we hadn’t heard the first four times. But could I really blame him? It was hard to wrap one’s head around the situation— let alone three.

“How could something this awful happen?” fretted Sunflora. “It’s unthinkable!”

“Yes, the unthinkable has happened,” Chatot agreed grimly, his features stiffening. “Upon further investigation, it appears time has stopped in Treeshroud Forest because… its Time Gear… was stolen.”

“ _Huh?!_ ” Bidoof gasped along with the others, his voice rife with bewilderment.

“The Time Gear was s-stolen?!” Dugtrio stuttered before the room devolved into an incoherent madness once more. But the cacophony meant little to me. I was more focused on how a chestnut-sized ball of horror fell directly from my chest to my stomach.

 _Stolen… The Time Gear! Someone really_ did _have the nerve…! It can’t be…_

“So, _that’s_ what made time stop! Hey, hey, hey!”

“I’d heard it was possible! But now it’s really happened…”

“I don’t **GET** it, though! Why would **ANYONE** take a Time Gear?!”

“ _ENOUGH!_ ” Chatot snapped at us, barely bridling his temper. “What did I _just_ say about keeping your composure?!” Somehow, we were faster to settle down this time— even though the news had arguably become worse. Perhaps it was _because_ of that that we were lulled into silence so easily. With a huff of exasperation, Chatot ruffled his feathers and slowly swept his gaze over us. “Officer Magnezone has already started an investigation. It’s hard to believe _anyone_ would dare steal a Time Gear. But if one has already been stolen, then the others are almost certainly in danger. The officer asked to be notified _immediately_ if we notice any suspicious characters. So, keep that in mind; let us know if you see anything out of place. Otherwise, there is little we can do right now except go about our normal business. Understood?”

“Understood,” some of us responded firmly, straightening our postures. It was hard to keep the look of concern off my face, though.

“Excellent. That is all, then. All right, everyone. Here’s to another busy day of work!”

“ **HURRAY!** ” There was an almost imperceptible strain to the cheer this time, but for what it was worth, everyone did their best to match the usual level of enthusiasm. As our colleagues dispersed, I felt rooted to the spot, my head still spinning.

“Summer? Summer!” Chika poked me in the side, and I nearly jumped; I hadn’t sensed her approach. “Will you be alright?”

“Um, I think so,” I muttered after a false start. Why did this news feel like it was hitting harder than it should? Sure, the matter was concerning, but…

“Oh, you two!” Chatot beckoned us suddenly. “Come here.” I sighed softly and forced my paws to move. Chatot was right, after all. There was little we could do right now. Best to let the professionals take care of it. To my surprise, my cloud of doom lifted almost right away with his next words.

“You’ve become quite good at your work lately, Team Amber Leaf. I’m still impressed with your capture of Drowzee. That was very admirable!” Chika seemed to brighten up, too, as I gave our thanks. “Yes, yes, of course. So! You will finally be assigned a mission worthy of a proper exploration team!”

“R-Really?!” Chika squealed, her eyes shining. “Yay!” My ears perked up in interest as my tails twitched in anticipation. I wondered where we would be going. Almost as if Chatot read my thoughts, he asked to see our wonder map. When we unrolled it, he placed his claws at a spot towards the bottom-left.

“Treasure Town is here,” he chirped. “And over here— not too far from us— is where we would like you to investigate. He moved his foot maybe two centimeters to the north-east. “See? There is a waterfall flowing here. By all appearances, it’s just an ordinary waterfall. But we’ve received intelligence that the waterfall may conceal a secret. And that’s where you come in! We want you to investigate the falls and determine what’s there, if anything.”

“Oh, neat!” I said as Chika helped me roll up the map. My instincts weren’t huge on the fact that we’d be surrounded by water, but I’m sure as long as we were careful, everything would be just fine. And, who knows: the falls were probably gorgeous.

“Well, that’s all,” Chatot spoke again. “Do you understand what this mission entails?”

“Yep, understood,” I replied, feeling a bubble of excitement growing within me.

“Good!” Chatot sighed happily. “All right, I’ll leave you both to a thorough investigation!” I was itching to go but when I turned to my left, I saw Chika standing still, her eyes fixed into the distance.

“Chika?” Now I was the one poking at her, but I didn’t get a reaction. Chatot tilted his head to the side slightly.

“Huh? What’s wrong? You’re shivering,” he observed. When Chika remained silent and her eyes began to tear up, Chatot became visibly nervous and hopped in place. “A-are you alright?”

“Yep… I’m OK,” Chika finally sniffled after a moment. “I-it’s just the anticipation that’s making me nervous. This will be… our first real job as an exploration team. So, I’m getting a bit emotional…” She spun around to face me, visibly shaking herself out of it. “Ooh, I’m just bubbling over with excitement! Let’s do our best, Summer!” I tucked the smile on my face to the side as I agreed, her enthusiasm stoking my own. We had more surprises in store, though, even before we left for our mission. When we climbed up the ladder to the upperground floor, Chimecho interrupted our ascent with the ring of a bell:

“Oh, Summer and Chika! There you are. Can I steal a moment of your time?”

“Hm?” Chika said. “What’s Chimecho up to over there? Isn’t she usually in the dining hall by now to inspect the stock?” Chika was right, but all I could do was shrug.

“Well, let’s find out.” I used Chimecho’s shiny yellow sucker as a beacon among the hustle and bustle of the morning billboard rush. She lit up once she saw us approaching.

“Goooood morning!” she sang in an awfully cheery voice behind a cobblestone arc. “You’re just the Pokémon I was looking for!”

“Really? What’s going on over here?” Chika questioned her.

“Well, I just started an assembly over here! Today, in fact.”

“Assembly?” I echoed vaguely.

“Yes! For assembling your team, I mean! Have you ever considered adding members, Summer and Chika?”

“Uhhh…” I turned to Chika. “I guess that would make sense in the long run.” She nodded her confirmation vigorously.

“Well, yeah! It’d be nice to add other members. If there were more than just the two of us, it sure would help when we explore dungeons!”

“Exactly!” Chimecho replied. “Teamwork makes the dream work, you know! But that’s only possible if you start recruiting new members.”

“Forgive my ignorance,” I piped up apologetically, “But how are we supposed to do that? Most of the Pokémon we meet in dungeons are annoyed that we’re invading their territory.”

“That’s a fair question, Summer! It’s actually pretty simple: I’ll just ring the friendship bell for you, Team Amber Leaf! Here goes… _hey-yah!”_ She swung herself around and a clear, resonant chime echoed around the room. It earned us a few questioning glances, but not much else. I tilted my head, and Chimecho began to look a little sheepish.

“I know it doesn’t look like much, but my bell should have triggered a special frequency wave from within your ID badge. It’s a special technology that can only be perceived by enemy Pokémon in a dungeon. The frequency uses subliminal influence: when an enemy Pokémon is defeated in battle, they may become persuaded to join your team! Neat, huh? It doesn’t always work on everyone, but, in general, your team now has the power to recruit new members!”

_Woah. That’s pretty cool, actually. Is she really saying we could potentially recruit a Pokémon on our mission today?_

“R-really?” Chika echoed my amazement verbally.

“Absolutely! If you bring them back to the guild without fainting, you can recruit that Pokémon for future jobs or explorations,” Chimecho explained. “The guild has special housing for our recruits, so no need to worry about that. Though, I must warn you: there _are_ certain dungeons that don’t allow you to bring in other team members… And some only allow the leader to go in. But you shouldn’t see those types of restrictions anytime soon. I wouldn’t stress about that right now.”

“OK! And how do we add them to the roster for the day?” I asked. Chimecho gave a cheeky grin and waved her flag around playfully.

“That’s where my assembly comes in! You can visit me at the desk right here, or there’s a new signpost with a bell right outside the watering hole that you can use to summon me. Then I’ll pull up your member list, and we’ll call for the two Pokémon you can pick to bring with you. Unfortunately, two is the limit imposed by the guild. But four in a party is still better than two! Does that make sense?”

“Uh-huh! Thank you, Chimecho!” Chika exclaimed happily.

“Glad to be of service!” she giggled. “Always see me when you want to assemble a team that includes recruits!”

That wasn’t even the end of it. As Chika and I chattered excitedly about the prospect of new team members, we came to a surprised halt once we reached the crossroads outside the guild.

“The boulder is gone!” I gasped, nudging Chika and pointing my paw where the giant stone used to be. The spot we puzzled over during the past few days had now been transformed. A sign with a giant red-painted spiral now stood at the corner, right next to… a pit with a staircase heading underground?

“Oh! That new facility must finally be up! Let’s check it out, Summer!” We dashed to the sign, the black print popping out against the wood. Chika squinted as she read the text aloud: “Spinda’s Café! A shop of hopes and dreams, opening soon! Win big!”

“ _‘Hopes and dreams…’_ ” I muttered contemplatively. Those were the words I heard Spinda mumble that one time! Still, I wasn’t entirely sure what they had to do with a café… or “winning big.”

“Right? What kind of shop is that?” Chika asked rhetorically, giving voice to my thoughts. She peered down the staircase curiously. “Well, the door seems to be closed… They must still be preparing. Let’s come back after it’s open and check it out.”

I nodded in agreement. “For sure— I’m definitely curious now. But we should probably head into Treasure Town and prepare for the waterfall mission!”

“ _Eek!_ That’s right! There’s been so much going on today already that I can barely keep my head on straight! Let’s go, Summer!”

* * *

Cleaved in half by a winding land bridge of stone, the foot of a raging river greeted us upon arrival. Both banks were enclosed by sheer cliff faces that stretched far beyond our heads. Even so, the occasional tree found purchase between the rock layers, tenaciously defying the laws of nature with their survival. As Chika and I followed the land bridge, the water rushed beside us with surprising ferocity. It wasn’t long before I felt sprays of moisture dappling the fur on my face. The mist wasn’t too bad yet, so I didn’t feel very apprehensive about it: the effect was actually somewhat relaxing.

“Well, it looks like you don’t have to worry about your leaf dehydrating anytime soon,” I quipped to Chika, my voice growing louder over the ever-increasing roar of the water. This earned me an amused splutter of laughter, the droplets on her skin glistening in the sun.

“Maybe so, but I hope we’re getting close by now.”

“Me too! I might start taking damage here if things get any wetter.” My prayers were answered in quick order: the last curve of the land bridge revealed one final stretch before abruptly coming to a halt as a peninsula. My paws carefully navigated the water-carved grooves in the stone, the mini pools submerging my toes. But this barely captured my attention compared to the mighty wall of water that stood before us.

 _Woah_. _When Chatot explained our mission, I pictured something much tamer for some reason… But this is amazing._ Chika’s mouth similarly gaped open in awe.

“So, _this_ is the waterfall that’s supposed to have a secret?” She tried getting closer to the edge, but it must have been _too_ close as she suddenly got thrown back in recoil. She tumbled and rolled to a stop beside my feet with a startled cry. My eyes widened; the falls already looked intimidating, but I didn’t realize the water would be that powerful.

“Chika! Are you OK?” I asked as she rose to her feet and shook the water off like a Lillipup.

“Y-yeah! I’m just stunned,” she said, her expression the very essence of surprise. “The water’s really pounding down! Try getting close to the waterfall, Summer.”

 _Uhhh… is that such a good idea?_ But I sighed softly as I put things in perspective. Presumably, explorers were expected to face their weaknesses head-on and power through them. I gulped discreetly and took a few steps forward. The mist quickly turned into a shower that pelted against me, making me cringe.

 _She’s right… This is incredible! I can barely stay standing near this deluge…_ I grit my teeth, determined to endure. But that sentiment fell apart quickly with one more tentative step forward. The water slammed into me like a Hydro Pump and sent me flying.

“ _Waaah!_ ” I hit the ground hard, feeling a little disorientated. With a small groan, I copied Chika’s actions and shook off the water with a slight scowl. Flashes of mild pain pulsed through me from my head to my toes, no doubt because of my type disadvantage. It didn’t feel great. I try to hide my discomfort for Chika’s sake, though. It certainly wasn’t something that was going to knock me out.

“See? It’s awesome,” Chika emphasized. She pursed her tiny mouth in concern, eyeing the falls warily. “If anyone fell under this— especially someone weak to water like you, Summer— I think they’d get pretty battered up. I didn’t think it would be pouring down this hard!”

I nod in agreement. “We heard the roar coming up, but I didn’t think it would be this bad, either.” Chika hummed in mild annoyance, swiveling her head back and forth.

“Where should we even start looking? You saw those cliffs coming in; they’re practically vertical. We can’t climb…” But the rest of her words faded away as the sound gets sucked out of my ears, my eyesight starting to waver.

 _Hmmm… Something seems familiar._ The dimness ebbed in and out, and I struggled to find purchase on the slippery surface beneath me. _It’s that dizziness I felt before…_ Sure enough, my vision goes completely black before a flash of white traveled across and burst outwards with a _ping._

_Now I see our position from above, except the Pokémon on the plateau isn’t Chika or myself. For some reason, the figure is shaded, and I can only make out a vague silhouette of whoever it is. The Pokémon paced backward for a few steps before taking a deep breath and charging forward, leaping right into the waterfall! I wanted to gasp, but I seemingly have no control over my voice right now._

_I expected the shadow to slam into the wall, but instead they tumbled into a stony cavern, filled with rotund stalagmites and clear pools of water. After taking a moment to gain their bearings, the Pokémon strode forward with little hesitation. It gave me the suspicion they’ve already done this many times before. Then the Pokémon disappeared into the mouth of a tunnel under a set of bulky stalactites. Wait, who is that? And why can’t I follow them?_

My vision returned white before I can act, and the light shrunk in on itself with a resounding _ding_. The remaining darkness swam itself away, and the roar returned to my ears as my sight adjusted back to the mighty waterfall. Chika hasn’t moved, nor has she seemingly noticed my predicament.

 _It happened again! I saw something… But_ what _did I just see?_ I must have made a noise or something because Chika was suddenly staring at me in a concerned manner.

“Oh? What’s the matter, Summer?” she questioned. “Still stunned from the waterfall?” I shook my head, blinking rapidly to ensure my grip on reality.

“No. I had… I think I had another vision.” I quickly explained to her what I just saw in a shaky voice, causing her to startle.

“What?! In your vision this time, a Pokémon leaped into this very waterfall? You saw that? And not only that, but there was a hidden cave behind it?!” Her tone was a mixture of bafflement and skepticism. She glanced back and forth nervously between me and the waterfall. “Hmmm… Maybe you saw something like that… But it looks like that water is crashing down really hard! Imagine if there was actually a solid cliff wall behind that waterfall! Yeesh…” She shivered slightly before continuing. “If we tried to jump through this… We’d be pounded badly!”

“I-I know,” is all I can stutter, still feeling somewhat out of it— and slightly irked at her reaction. Was she really going to do this to me every time? And yet, what if she was right? She had every right to be concerned; the presence of a wall would be a practical death sentence for us.

“So, Summer?” Her voice brought me back to the present. “What do you think? Is there really something behind this waterfall? You’re sure that there really is a cave there?” She held my gaze steadily; I swallowed nervously.

“Honestly, Chika? No, I don’t know for sure. But I do know what I saw, and I _do_ know that the last time this happened, my vision ended up coming true.” Not knowing what else to say, I left it at that, staring deep into her red irises. Yes, the chance of my being wrong was there, but despite the uncertainty, something deep down told me I was right. My words from the day I envisioned Azurill’s capture came back to me almost hauntingly:

_“You say you trust me? It sure doesn’t sound like it!”_

Even now, I felt those words hanging between us, taunting me. That time, Chika had every right to fail the test of faith. Heck, I know _I_ would have failed it if I had been in her position. But even with the very serious risks presented by the waterfall, I would be very hurt and disappointed if she happened to fail the test again. We were friends, after all. Friends are supposed to trust each other…

The moment passed when Chika exhaled slowly. “Well… OK. What you said makes sense. I’m going to believe in you, Summer!” She hopped up eagerly. “Yes! I totally believe in you, Summer!”

 _Chika_ … My heart warmed as my body filled with relief. It soothed whatever residuals of pain remained from my blowback. My eyes followed her as she took a few steps back, stopping just before the start of the peninsula. I take my place beside her, trying to ignore the nagging seed of doubt from somewhere in my mind. Even if I was right, this was going to be a rough ride. Out of the corner of my vision, I saw a shudder run through Chika.

“ _Eek!_ ” she gulped. But then she shook her head, her leaf flapping wildly before her expression hardened. “OK, I gotta be brave now! If I get scared and fail to leap through at full speed… I’ll be smooshed no matter what I do! If I’m going for it, it has to be without any hesitation.” Chika almost looks angry as her voice sharpened with resolve. “Be brave… Use all your courage!”

 _That’s my Chika_. I would have to do the same, especially given my vulnerability. I brace myself, my haunches beginning to rise.

“Ready, Summer! Let’s go! I’ll count us down.” Chika pressed her toes into the stone, dragging them back slightly like a Bouffalant preparing to charge. “Three… Two… One… Now!”

I don’t need to hear her twice. We galloped forwards, leaping from the edge at the same time. I squeezed my eyes shut and held my breath, bracing for the worst but hoping for the best. I barely caught Chika’s gurgled cry as we slammed through the aquatic stronghold. It was like being submerged in fire (although I suppose that experience would be much more welcomed by a Vulpix than a human). I felt the wind get knocked out of me as every fiber of my being stung viciously. At some point, I became aware that I was sprawled on the cold hard ground. My head pounded in agony, and it took me a minute before I remembered where I was. Chika was somewhere ahead of me, groaning a string of _yows_ and _wows_.

“That was intense!” she sighed, rising to her feet and frowning as water dripped off her head. “And now I’m soaked.”

 _You’re telling me._ I grunt, and it took me more noticeable effort to stand. I fumbled for an Oran Berry in our treasure bag, swallowing it whole without much ceremony. I felt the energy slowly return to my veins, the aches settling into a soft murmur. After checking to make sure I was OK, we quickly scanned the cavern— to my relief, the area looked identical to the cavern in my vision.

“Yes! This _is_ a cave!” Chika exclaimed in a high-toned pitch of excitement. “I knew you were right, Summer! We should go explore! Let’s see what secrets this cavern holds!” She jerked her head towards the path before skittering off. I chuckled in amusement before following, taking pace to catch up.

_I’m glad we didn’t get flattened against a wall after all. But that still hurt like crazy! I just hope we never have to do something like that again._

* * *

I was pretty nervous as we made our way through the dampening caverns. Some Pokémon weren’t too bad for me in terms of type matchups, like Tangela and Grimer. But the remaining Pokemon were all water types, like Barboach, Surskit, and Psyduck. Admittedly, they had weaker moves like Bubble, but they still hit me harder than I was expecting. Not once, but _twice_ did I nearly faint, barely hanging on and keeping us from getting kicked out of the dungeon. After that, when approaching the water types, I would step to the side to let Chika handle things with her Razor Leaf. To our surprise and joy, one Pokémon actually _did_ ask to join us! The little guy was a Wooper: he was eager, inquisitive, and well-meaning.

“You guys are in for a real treat, you know!” he squeaked at one point. “There are rumors of great riches inside the deepest point of the cavern. I’ve never been there, though, so I don’t know if it’s true or not.”

“You just leave it to us, Wooper!” Chika had exclaimed, her voice alight with zeal. “We of Team Amber Leaf can and _will_ retrieve the treasure of Waterfall Cave!”

…Yup, that’s what we dubbed the place for the time being. Pretty boring, but also pretty self-explanatory.

Finally, the harrowing journey (for me, anyway) ended when a set of stairs led us to an open room. We all gasped at the sight standing before us. There were gemstones everywhere! Some were small, some were large, and all shone brilliant shades of red, pink, yellow, and blue. Even the walls were adorned with these vibrant gems jutting out from the stone. We stood upon an elevated plateau, our path disrupting a vast and cool stream that ran westwards beneath us. The stalactites above dripped with moisture, their deposits creating ever-crossing ripples across the otherwise quiet waterway.

“Wow!” Chika squealed, absolutely beside herself. “Would you look at that, Summer and Wooper? Look at all these sparkling gems!”

“Oh, I’m looking.” I eyed a particularly dazzling turquoise stone, its spherical surface smooth and untainted. “I just want to make sure I’m not dreaming.”

“ _Wooooaaahhh!_ ” Wooper followed, his eyes popping out of his head. “I knew the rumors were true; I just knew it!”

“Do you think we can take these?” I approached the nearest jewel, trying to use my paw to wrestle it loose. But the gem was firmly embedded in the soil. Even after applying a little muscle, it barely made any movement.

“No luck?” Chika asked me with a curious tilt of her head.

“Nah,” I confirmed, shaking my head. “We’d have to really dig for it. If we tried doing this for every gem, it could take us until sundown”

“That certainly won’t do,” she murmured as she began to scan the area. “Maybe if we can just find the largest… Oh! Look over there, guys! It’s a gigantic gem!” She pointed her leaf towards the back of the cavern, where I spotted the largest gemstone of all. As we excitedly approached it, I wondered how I didn’t see something so glaringly obvious until now. The magenta jewel seemed to glow brighter than the others, its shape sharp and refined even within its holding place.

“Oh, man! I’ve never seen a gem this immense!” Wooper gaped, his eyes reflecting the gem’s hue. “I’m really glad I decided to go with you guys!

“This is an incredible treasure,” I murmured. My voice was more subdued than Chika’s or Wooper’s, but my heart still pounded in elation. “Everyone will be amazed if we bring this back.”

“Yes! Then this is the one!” Chika exclaimed joyfully. She strode right up to the gem, held in place by formations of stone. The jewel was over half her height, and I was amazed she could get her forelegs around the thing at all. But her little body struggled as she tried to pry the giant gem out. She really gave it a shot though, pulling as hard as she could.

“Urrrgh! _Urrrghh!_ ” Chika groaned in exertion, panting. Wooper approached the gem, but he could do little to help without any arms. Chika suddenly lost her grip, releasing a small gasp as she landed on her rear.

“Nope, it’s not budging… It’s really stuck tight,” she sighed. “Can you give it a try, Summer?”

“Uh, sure.” I felt a little intimidated as I stood before the gem, biting the inside of my cheek. What would be the best way to tackle this? I braced myself on my hind legs and struggled to stand, wrapping my front paws around the gem in a giant embrace. Obtaining a grip was almost impossible on the gem’s flawlessly smooth surface. I yanked back with a considerable amount of force, but the gem didn’t budge. I growled softly as I felt my paws slip and scramble to keep their purchase. It shortly became clear that no amount of force would do the trick, firm grip or not.

 _Woah! She wasn’t kidding! This is_ really _stuck!_ My breaths grew ragged as my tendons strained under the pressure. After a few more busted tries, I felt my muscles give out. I wheezed and let my body take the fall, taking a moment to catch my breath even in my undignified position. _Nope… No good. Ugh…_

“Easy there,” Wooper frowned sympathetically. “Save your strength.” He instructed me to open my mouth, and some cool water flowed down my throat. I swallowed it gratefully, taking a moment for my energy to return.

“Wow, you really tried! But you couldn’t move it, either…” Chika helped me rise to my feet. She then glared at the stubborn jewel with an adamant pout. “But we can’t just give up! If we try hard enough, we’ll probably get some kind of result. Rest up for a moment, Summer; I’ll give it another go!” I nodded wearily in recognition, retreating to Wooper’s side.

“She’s really persistent, huh?” Wooper commented as she took position.

“I guess so,” I chuckled softly. _I’m willing to bet part of it is pride, though. This is our first mission, after all, and we want to make a good impression…_

Chika’s struggle seemed even fiercer than before, her grunts ringing out louder this time. I was starting to wonder if it would be _less_ work taking the time to excavate the smaller gems… and that’s when my vision began to waver _again_. The resulting blurs were annoyingly familiar by now, and my claws gripped into the cobble in protest.

_Oh no… It’s happening again! It’s…_

The procedure was predictable at this point. The swallowing darkness. The trail of light. The white sunburst in the center and its accompanying _ping_.

_The cavern of gemstones sharpened into focus. It appeared empty at first, but then a figure entered the frame from below. It’s the silhouetted Pokémon from before! The Pokémon paused just before the large magenta gem in the back. They take a moment to survey both sides of the broken stream, almost as if to brace themselves for something. Then, with a deep breath, a paw (or hand? It’s hard to tell) reached outward and firmly pressed the gem inward with a crisp clicking noise. That’s when the rumbling began._

_I tried to move my head to locate the source of the sound, but my gaze was locked in place. The Pokémon does the work for me, swinging 90 degrees to their right. They gulped, their eyes glowing with nervous anticipation. The rumbling turned into a roar as a giant torrent of water burst from somewhere unknown and rushed towards them. It’s in the moment just before the flood hits that I finally caught a fleeting glimpse of the Pokémon. The silhouette gets torn away, and I have less than a moment to register his expression of panic before he gets swallowed by the current. I tried to scream his name but once again, I am left without a body, a voice, or even a will of my own_ —

Fade to white, the self-imploding point of light, and the inky blackness that stripped itself away. Chika’s verbal protests gradually bring the cave surroundings back into focus. While I still felt disorientated, the usual kickback seemed to resolve itself quicker this time. I heard Chika gripe about something, but I failed to perceive her words.

 _But that was…!_ My thoughts whirred together in a storm, desperately trying to string disparate pieces together. _He— the gem! He pushed it and... the flood… but he knew! He braced himself, and—_

“Hey, what if I nudge it out this way?” I froze for a moment at the sound of Chika’s voice before her words register and the anxiety hits.

 _Aaaack! No! That’s_ — “Chika, don’t!” I started to shout, but it’s already too late. Her head nudged the gem forward, replicating the horrifying _click_ I heard moments before.

“Don’t what—?” Her words get cut off as the ground began to shake and a not-so-distant thunder began to rumble. “Huh? What’s happening??” Wooper squealed from somewhere beside me. I whirled around to face the now-tumultuous stream, its unrest only an omen for what was coming.

“Chika, you set off a trap!” I yelled loudly, struggling to keep my balance. I gripped the strap of our wonder bag firmly between my teeth— This was the one thing we absolutely could not risk losing in a washout.

“I set off a _what?!”_ Before anyone could respond, the rumble turned into a clamorous bellow as the raging rapids broke free somewhere ahead and started racing towards us. “AHHH! It’s a flood!”

 _Darn it! This is going to hurt_ much _worse than the waterfall_! “ _Run!”_ I hissed before sprinting back towards the mystery dungeon at an angle perpendicular to the current. But we didn’t stand a chance against the raging speed of the water. The last thing I remembered was getting pummeled by the current, the water filling my nose and lungs as Chika and Wooper gave gurgled screams. And then everything turned dark— but this time, it wasn’t because of a vision.

* * *

A stew of soothing warmth and infused pain slowly brought me back to my senses. I whimpered at the sensation, feeling like I just got hit with a Hyper Beam. I forced my eyes open to scope out the situation, blinking in disbelief at what I saw.

 _S-sky?_ It took a moment, but I forced my head to rotate. I couldn’t see much from being on my back, but at the edge of my vision sat a large tree overlooking a giant stone rim. I heard astonished voices from somewhere around me and felt a balm of hot water submerging my body. I had way too many questions shooting around in my head right now.

 _Wait, where am I? What happened…?_ And then it all came back to me, my face growing pale with worry. _Augh! The flood!_

“Chika? Wooper?” I croaked, flipping myself over with a grimace. To my utter relief, I saw the two Pokémon were nearby, floating in the pool and overcoming a sense of shellshock. Wooper looked the least incapacitated out of the three of us, jumping up onto his feet. The water nearly went up to his gills.

“ _Woo-hoo!_ That was _wicked!_ ” he gasped. “Very intense, but very fun!! …Oh my. Are you OK, Summer? Chika?”

 _I wouldn’t exactly call this ‘fun.’_ “In a lot of pain, but it’s not gonna kill me,” I muttered, slowly rising and shaking the water out of my ears. Chika did the same, moaning slightly as she righted herself.

“Huh? What just…? Where are we?” she squeaked while I blindly grasp for our bag. By some miracle, the strap managed to remain around my neck, but now the leather was totally ruined. Our supplies were probably waterlogged, too.

“Hi, hi! Are you three OK? You plopped down from out of nowhere!” a small voice spoke up. We turned to the source: a small Teddiursa with big, round eyes. Only then do I notice he’s not alone: Mankey, Primate, Ursaring, and Vigorith formed a circle around us, their faces radiating concern. On the rocks themselves stood a lone Torkoal, peering down at us inquisitively.

“We did?” I responded blankly. Chika looked similarly baffled.

“Yes. Oh, you startled everyone!” Teddiursa said.

“I… do feel like I got washed and tossed from somewhere,” Chika muttered. “Everything happened so fast…”

“I think the flood knocked you guys out,” Wooper spoke. “I’m used to swimming, but even I barely managed to hang in there. Though, I heard Chika screaming until the waterspout dropped us from above. We’re lucky we all ended up in the same place.”

“Did you just say _waterspout?_ ” I spluttered. Maybe it was a _good_ thing I hadn’t been conscious. I turned to face Teddiursa. “Wait, where did you say we are?”

“U-um, I didn’t,” he replied. “But this is the hot springs.” I took a closer look at all the Pokémon around us.

“Wait, are y’all from Treasure Town?” I asked on a hunch. I received a handful of nods.

“H-hot springs? Near Treasure Town?!” Chika exclaimed. The Torkoal lumbered to the center of the natural stone steps.

“Indeed! This is the hot springs,” her croaky voice confirmed. “This place works wonders on tired muscles, creaky joints, and dull pains. Many Pokémon from Treasure Town and elsewhere visit here.”

 _Ah, hot springs... That explains why the pain isn’t monstrous._ Even now, my wounds didn’t seem to burn as brightly as before.

“Tell me, youngsters,” Torkoal continued, “Have you a map?”

“Map?” Chika echoed. “Oh, like our wonder map. Sure, we do.”

“Come up here and unfold it for me.” We waded our way to Torkoal, climbing the steps with shaky limbs and staggered breaths. Unfortunately, our bag was filled with water, and the map parchment was totally soggy. “Oh, dear. I don’t know if I can read this. Well, in any case, you can take my word for it. The Oran Forest is just to the north-east, and Treasure Town is a short distance west.” Squinting, I tried to remember how the map looked this morning when Chatot was explaining our mission.

“OK, let’s pretend Treasure town is here.” I put my toes somewhere near the lower-left corner. “On this map, the falls were two centimeters to the north-east _—_ whatever that scales to. And from there, the springs are…?”

“The springs lie about the same distance to the south-east,” Torkoal finished for me. “Is the waterfall of interest to you?”

“‘Of interest?’ That’s where we came from!” I exclaimed. “We, uh… got caught in a flash flood.” Chika gasped, seemingly ignoring my comment as the gears in her head turned.

“That means… the water carried us all this way?!” she said. Wooper gave a low whistle, clearly impressed.

“My goodness!” Torkoal breathed in astonishment. “It was the water from a flood that dropped you all here? What an awful journey that must have been! Let the hot springs wash away your fatigue before you make your way home.” I rolled the muscles in my shoulder forward, wincing slightly as they still complained.

“Thank you. I think we better,” I murmured with a slight dip of my head.

“Good idea. Thank you Torkoal, everyone,” Chika spoke before she and Wooper began to guide me back down the steps and into the steamy water. I flashed my companions an expression of gratitude for their benevolence.

* * *

Sometime later back at the guild, Chatot gave Chika and I a cock-eyed stare. (Members not directly affiliated with the guild aren’t allowed on the second floor, so Wooper just went straight to his dwellings to recuperate.)

“Hmm. Let me see if I’ve got this all straight,” he began slowly. “Behind the waterfall, you found a cave… and in the deepest part of this cave, there was a gigantic gem. As you attempted to retrieve said gem, you incidentally pushed it, which triggered a trap of some kind… And, surprisingly, you were flushed off to the distant hot springs? That’s the gist of your report?”

I nodded stiffly. “Yeah. And, uh, the flood totally ruined our wonder bag and map, so we’ll need new ones if that’s OK…” I felt uncomfortable, wondering how Chatot would react to our briefing; Chika looked similarly vexed.

“It’s awfully disappointing that we couldn’t bring the gem back…” she sighed, looking ready to hide her head in shame. “I guess we should have dug up the smaller— _Ow!”_ That was me, discreetly jabbing at her and giving a cautionary glance. The last thing we needed was to be chewed out by Chatot for not picking up the smaller gems when we had the opportunity. Better to let him think there was nothing else there at all. Thankfully, Chatot didn’t seem to notice Chika’s outburst, nor my subtle interruption.

“No, no, no!” he gasped in delight, hopping up and down. “Emphatically, _no!_ This is a major discovery!!” Chatot’s voice hit a register I’ve never heard before, arousing some vague suspicion within me. Was it just me, or did he seem a little _too_ elated at the news?

“R-really?!” Chika replied giddily, oblivious to the verbal tone I picked up on.

“ _Undoubtedly!_ ” Chatot crooned. “After all, the presence of the cave behind the waterfall… No one knew about that before now!” His praise caused Chika to jump and squeal in excitement, but I found I couldn’t do the same. My mind fixated on other matters.

 _He just said_ the _cave, not_ a _cave. Like he already knew about it… Maybe that doesn’t mean anything but… No, wait! When I had those dizzy spells, the shadow of the Pokémon I saw… I couldn’t make out the silhouette at first, but then… That last time!!_ A not-so-distant flashback seized me: the wide blue eyes, the floppy ears, the pink and white fur that stood on end. I only saw it for less than a second before the water engulfed him, and yet… I knew him! I had recognized him back in the cave! There was no mistaking it…

“Guildmaster Wigglytuff was in the cave before we were!” I gasped and covered my mouth with my paw as I heard the words leave my mouth. The celebration of the Pokémon beside me came to an abrupt halt. I felt two pairs of eyes boring into me, and I slowly turned to face them with a gulp.

“ _Pardon?!_ ” Chika squeaked, while Chatot simultaneously squawked, “ _What?!_ ” He sounded more appalled than surprised, and that heightened my suspicions even _more_.

 _Oh boy. How do I explain my way out of this one?_ “I, uhh… I-I just, I guess I had a hunch? I mean, the waterfall is _so_ close to the guild; there’s no way it hasn’t been explored before. And, like… Erm…” I was running out of steam, and I knew it. But I also felt like I was on the verge of an epiphany. “I don’t know, the Pokémon were, um, kinda weaker than I expected? Almost as if they matched us in level. Almost as if… someone had to go out beforehand… to make sure we could handle it.”

There’s a stiff, momentary pause as my implication gets processed. Chika gave me a look like I just said… well, like I just said I had been human before (which… yeah. You know the deal with that). But Chatot came from the other end of the spectrum, a flash of mutual understanding and panic crossing his face.

“No, no, no! Emphatically, _no!”_ the bird choked out, flapping his wings in utter alarm. “That is simply _inconceivable!_ If that were so, the Guildmaster wouldn’t have ordered you to investigate the place, _right?!_ ” His tremulous tone sounded genuine, but the words seemed incredibly forced. Now I had all the confirmation I needed.

“Not unless… that place was a regular test for new recruits,” I spoke slowly, remembering Wigglytuff’s assuredness in my first vision. “The giant gem trap… could have been set up by anyone, I guess. Maybe Wigglytuff _did_ just happen to come upon it one day. But it’s equally likely he set it up himself… just for us to find. Maybe as a lesson or a test.”

Chika’s mouth gaped open wide enough to fit an entire apple in her mouth. Chatot’s reaction, while less outrageous, morphed from spooked to… dismayed?

“Hmm… Since you insist, I suppose I will confirm it with the Guildmaster…” He gave a weighted sigh, turning to the side and beginning to mumble almost inaudibly. “But _why_ would they want to spoil their own discovery! How strange! I should be used to it by now… These apprentices are yet another strange crew, aren’t they…?” Now my mouth is hanging open, and I nearly call him out for it. But something told me that wouldn’t be the wisest decision.

“What was that, Chatot?” Chika frowned. “I couldn’t hear you.” He startled, whipping around to face us like we just walked in unannounced.

“What? Oh, nothing, nothing! Nothing at all! Nothing of any importance!” There’s that strain in the voice again, trying a little too hard to cover up the truth. He exhaled and took a moment to calm himself down. “Anyway, I will go confirm what you told me with the Guildmaster. Please wait here.” As he nervously hopped towards the doors, I felt a trickle of sweat travel down my face.

 _What… just happened?_ All I could do was shake my head. A stolen Time Gear, a jump through a waterfall, an unconscious spell from a flash flood, and now this. I felt weary to the bone.

* * *

 _“When I asked the Guildmaster, he mulled it over for a bit. And then he said… ‘Oh, memories! Sweet memories! YOOM… TAH!’ Then he danced around for a bit. And then he said… ‘Yes, yes! When I think hard, maybe I did go there once!’ And that’s just what the Guildmaster said. To sum it up, it’s just as Summer, erm,_ suspected _… He has indeed already been to Waterfall Cave. But whether that place is a ‘test’ for new recruits or not… I’m not disclosed to say!”_

“We went through a lot today, didn’t we?” Chika sighed later that night, staring out the window in our room. I grumbled my agreement.

“I don’t think we were the only ones,” I added. “Sunflora looked really beat up, and Loudred wasn’t in the mess hall at all tonight.”

“Now that you mention it, you’re right… Huh. I wonder what that’s all about.”

“Not sure. I asked Sunflora if she was OK, but she just shook her head and mumbled something about fire and ghost decoys and Loudred being a kindhearted fool…” I shrugged, leaving it at that. Something must have happened on a mission they went on today (and, in hindsight, I wasn’t entirely wrong). Part of me wished I could have faced the flames today instead for her, rather than getting knocked out by that flood. I’m sure I would have felt right at home there…

“You know, Summer,” Chika spoke after a brief pause, interrupting my train of thought. “When Chatot told us what Wigglytuff said, I was kind of disappointed. I mean, I really thought we had discovered a new place!”

“Kind of makes you wish they had told us from the start, huh?” Chika nodded weakly before a mischievous thought crossed my mind. I adjusted my posture before continuing in a nasally imitation of Chatot: “‘ _The Guildmaster can be rather, uh, erratic at times. Even I can’t fathom what goes through his head. Nevertheless, I shall expect your best effort for tomorrow!’_ ” Chika playfully rolled her eyes and laughed dryly.

“Oh, I get it. That’s _so_ like him.” I smiled when her face seemed to lighten up a little bit. “Sure, there was that huge letdown at first… But you know what? The mission was incredibly fun for me! It was our first exploration, and I was ready to burst with excitement and anticipation the whole time! That’s when I realized… I really did the right thing in becoming an exploration team member. I… finally understood firsthand why it was so great for my papa.”

 _Chika..._ I wanted to say her name, but it got stuck in my throat. Fortunately, she didn’t seem to notice as she dug into our new wonder bag and pulled out her precious treasure. She pushed it in front of us with her leg, regarding it thoughtfully.

“I’m really glad nothing happened to this,” she said softly. “One day, I’m sure I’ll solve the secret of my Relic Fragment and my papa. That’s my dream. If I ever found him again… or even if I ever just discovered the meaning of the fragment… I’d surely faint from sheer happiness!”

“Good thing I’ll be there to catch you when you fall,” I joked, causing us to dissolve into a brief fit of laughter. Using her leaf to wipe away a stray tear, Chika returned the fragment to its pocket. Then she held my gaze with her soft red eyes.

“But seriously, Summer. Thank you…”

“Hm? What for?”

“I can explore because of you.” Her voice was the softest whisper, a mere breeze on the surface of a pond. “When we were stuck at the crossroads over the waterfall, I had to trust you when it mattered most. It was your sense of calm that helped me be brave. I’m the biggest chicken around, and even I managed to work up the courage! And it was all because you were with me, Summer. Seriously… thanks!”

“Um, y-you’re welcome,” I stuttered modestly. _But_ you’re _the one who made that leap of faith, Chika. You should be proud of yourself…_

“…Oh yeah!” she gasped suddenly. “You know, I was thinking… I noticed something about your dizzy spells. So far, they always seem to happen when you’re touching something!”

“They… do?” I took a moment, replaying all the times I’ve had a vision. _Come to think of it…_ _The first time was the apple with Azurill… The second time was when Drowzee accidentally bumped into me… and the third time was the spray from the waterfall. And then the time after that was the giant gem!_ “Wow. You’re right! It _was_ always after touching something…” Chika nodded firmly as I contemplated further. “And when I touch something… I see something connected to it… right?”

“Not just ‘something.’” This caught my attention, and I rose on all fours. “That day with Azurill… You had the vision _before_ the abduction happened. So, you had a vision of the future. But this time, you saw Wigglytuff going into the cave, right? Which he had already done! Meaning you saw something that took place in the past!” It took a moment for her words to truly sink in. The silence stretched on for a few beats before the lightbulb finally went off.

 _“_ Th-that’s true! Oh my gosh,” I faltered. “I— I think I need to sit back down.”

“I would, too! This is huge.” Chika looked moments away from pacing back and forth. “So, sometimes when you touch something, you see its past or future. That’s the kind of special ability you have. This could be something totally amazing! You could use it in lots of ways! Not just for exploring, either. It could be used for many things! It’s incredible!”

I offered a frown of puzzlement as she glittered with excitement. “W-well, yes! I suppose that’s true… But how often do I touch something and _not_ have a vision? It doesn’t always happen every time. Maybe it would be useful if I could have the visions when I wanted…”

 _An apple. A Pokémon. A spray of water. And a gem button. What is it these things have in common…? And is any of this related to the fact that I was once human?_ Before I could truly think it over, I get startled by an unexpected voice.

“Hey, you two!” Chika and I turn around to face Chatot, who somehow walked in without our noticing. “The Guildmaster wants to see you right away.”

“This late?” Chika replied, barely suppressing her whine.

“It won’t take long,” he huffed with a hint of exasperation. “I know you two had a long day, but just perk up for five more minutes, OK? The Guildmaster doesn’t like to see unhappy troopers, you know.”

* * *

“Guildmaster, I’ve brought you Team Amber Leaf.”

No response, except the fiery crackle of the lit torches. I suppressed a sigh; the conversation with Chika roused me somewhat, but once my paws started moving again, I felt the utter exhaustion settle into my bones. This instance of déjà vu seriously wasn’t helping matters, either.

“Guildmaster… Guildmaster?” Chatot gently pressed. There are a few more beats of silence before, on a cue only he could hear, Wigglytuff hopped on his feet and spun around. I expected this, but the timing caught me off guard, and I still winced.

“Hiya!” His voice sounded as cheery as I remembered (truth be told, I don’t think I’ve heard him say a _word_ to us since our first night). “Your team went through a lot today! Yes, a lot-lot! But don’t worry: I’m keeping a careful watch on your activities. Actually, I should tell you why I called you here. We plan on announcing this to everyone tomorrow, but we’re planning to mount a full expedition soon!” Now _that_ caught my interest— and Chika’s as well. She perked her head up, snapping to attention.

“An expedition?” she asked innocently. I expected Wigglytuff to elaborate, but it was Chatot who took over the wheel.

“Yes. An expedition is— well, I think it’s pretty self-explanatory. The guild will go exploring someplace far away! We do these surveys from time to time, you see. It’s much harder and more involved than exploring the nearby area; that’s why we need to prepare for a big trip properly. We carefully choose which guild members can go on the expedition. Not everyone is able to come, as we need some guild members to hold down the fort. So, we only pick the most hard-working and deserving Pokémon!”

“R-really?!” Chika squealed. “That’s so amazing!” I already felt myself straightening my posture so we could make a good impression. But I couldn’t hide the excitement that dawned on my face.

Wigglytuff cleared his throat. “Usually, we would never, _ever_ consider rookies for an expedition. But you two are working so very hard! That’s why we’re making a special exception this time. We decided to include you in the list of potential candidates for the expedition!”

“For real?” I breathed in awe. “T-thank you so much!” Chika just about jumped up and down, her front legs wiggling with enthusiasm.

“Now, now!” Chatot was quick to chastise us in his typical fashion. “This doesn’t mean you’re a shoo-in! You haven’t been chosen as expedition members _yet_. There is still time before we set out on the journey. If you fail to do good work before then, you cannot expect to be selected. Understood?”

“Understood!” Chika and I answered firmly with a nod.

“I’m sure you two can do it!” Wigglytuff chimed in with a grand old smile. “Try hard!” Chika turned to face me, her eyes glittering like stars.

“An expedition! Isn’t this fantastic, Summer? My pulse is racing all of a sudden! Let’s try our best and make sure we get picked!”

“Of course!” I agreed, feeling my last sparks of energy return. We held our heads high and struck our poses for Wigglytuff. But just as I began to depart with Chika, Wigglytuff’s words halt me in place.

“Hold on, Summer. Can you stay with me for one more minute?” Chika looked back questioningly. “Go on, you two.” Wigglytuff motioned to Chika and Chatot. “This is meant to be a private conversation; it won’t take long.”

“W-wait! If you’re talking to Summer, then why can’t _I_ —” Chika began to protest, but Chatot was quick to corral her out the doors, scolding her all the while for her manners.

“Uhhh…Yes, of course, Guildmaster,” I finally responded once the doors swung shut. _Oh my gosh,_ please _just let me go to bed._ Trying to hide my fatigue, I approached Wigglytuff once more. “She, uh, she means well,” I added, and Wigglytuff nodded in understanding. On the one hand, I hope she didn’t just blow our chances at the expedition; on the other, I began to feel vaguely terrified that I did something wrong without knowing it. Or what if…Wigglytuff somehow discovered my secret?

 _No. There’s_ no _way. I haven’t told a living soul besides Chika, and she hasn’t had the chance to even_ consider _spilling the word to him. Or anyone else, for that matter._

“Relax. You’re not in trouble,” Wigglytuff began in a softer voice than I anticipated, causing me to visibly decompress. “Actually, I wanted to congratulate you.”

“Huh?” My eyes dart to his, my ears perking forward. Wigglytuff gave a coy smile, crossed his arms in front of him (or, he attempted to, what with how short they were).

“Well, first off, for sticking it out through the waterfall and the flood today. Honestly, I almost didn’t assign this mission because I was worried all that water would be too much for you. But you didn’t come back too roughed up, so clearly you’re as resilient as I’d hoped.”

 _Well, it certainly wasn’t easy, but it’s nice to be noticed_. “O-oh! Well, thank you—”

“Wait. That’s not all.” His voice, while serious, held an undertone of admiration. “I’ve been thinking and thinking and thinking… And for the life of me, I can’t figure out how you _knew!_ The cave, the gem trap, the purpose of the place… Even my _being_ there before. When Chatot told me your suspicions, I nearly lost my footing. How in the _world_ did you manage that?”

“…Uhhhhh…” I dragged out, feeling my limbs freeze up. _I doubt he would believe me if I told the truth… Should I pin this on a tattletale guildmember or something?_ But I could never bring myself to tell such a blatant lie. Thankfully, I didn’t have to; Wigglytuff chuckled and waved my hesitation off.

“It’s okay if you’re shy; the mystery is what makes it fun! Some secrets are best left untold—”

 _Oh, you have_ no _idea_ , I thought with an internal flinch.

“—In any case, your observation and deduction skills are extraordinary! Perhaps even on par with mine, back when I was your age.” His expression was gentle, with a hint of joviality and nostalgia. “We’re lucky to have you, Summer, truly. Oh, and Chika too, of course. I just wanted you to know that.”

“O-okay.” The word tumbled out after I was sure he was finished, and I bowed my head in respect and appreciation. “T-thank you again. I promise we’ll do our best to work hard and get on that expedition.”

“I expect nothing less. Go get some rest— you’ve more than earned it.” It wasn’t until I scuttled out the doors and down the hall that I released a sigh of relief. From that day on, I felt a special sense of respect for our light-hearted Guildmaster.


End file.
